How to create a mailing list with mailman

Mailman is a popular open-source mailing list manager that allows you to create and manage mailing lists, as well as send and receive emails. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create a mailing list with Mailman:

Prerequisites

• You have a Linux or Unix-based system installed on your server.
• You have Python installed on your system (Mailman is written in Python).
• You have a domain name and a mail server set up.

Step 1: Install Mailman

You can install Mailman using your distribution's package manager or by compiling it from source. Here are the installation instructions for some popular distributions:

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install mailman
• Red Hat/CentOS: sudo yum install mailman
• Fedora: sudo dnf install mailman
• Compile from source: sudo python setup.py install

Step 2: Create a new mailing list

Once Mailman is installed, you can create a new mailing list using the following command:

sudo newlist mylist

Replace mylist with the name of your mailing list. This command will create a new directory for your mailing list and generate the necessary configuration files.

Step 3: Configure the mailing list

Edit the mylist directory's config.pck file using a text editor:

sudo nano mylist/config.pck

Update the following settings:

• list_name: Set the name of your mailing list.
• list_description: Set a brief description of your mailing list.
• admin_address: Set the email address of the mailing list administrator.
• owner_address: Set the email address of the mailing list owner.

Step 4: Set up the mailing list's email address

Create a new email address for your mailing list using your mail server's configuration files. For example, if you're using Postfix, you can add the following lines to your /etc/postfix/main.cf file:

[email protected] mylist

Replace yourdomain.com with your domain name.

Step 5: Start the Mailman daemon

Start the Mailman daemon using the following command:

sudo /etc/init.d/mailman start

This command will start the Mailman daemon and make it available to your system.

Step 6: Test the mailing list

Test your mailing list by sending an email to [email protected] (replace mylist with the name of your mailing list). This will send a confirmation email to the list administrator and owner.

Step 7: Manage your mailing list

You can manage your mailing list using the Mailman web interface, which is available at http://yourdomain.com/mailman/admin (replace yourdomain.com with your domain name). You can use the web interface to add subscribers, manage list settings, and send emails to the list.

That's it! You've successfully created a mailing list with Mailman.