ADMINISTRATING Mailing Lists

Quick Menu:

Expectations

Q: What is expected of me as a list admin/moderator?

A: Some suggested expectations from listwork folk:

• keep up with admin tasks - deleting spam, approving legit mails etc
• tell listwork when the list is no longer required
• organise new list admins when you can no longer do it
• be a voice of moderation on the lists to keep the tone hospitable

New Mailing List

Q: Can you setup a new mailing list for me?

A: This depends. Unfortunately, we can only host mailing lists which are directly related to Indymedia. Our list server is already very, very, crowded, so we can not host lists for externals anymore. If you need to have a mailing list which does not meet our criteria, please ask someone else to host it.

You may try at

• http://lists.riseup.net
• http://www.resist.ca
• http://www.aktivix.org
• http://www.nadir.org
• your local political provider

To request setup of your Indymedia-related mailing list, please fill out the newlist form. The Listwork team will then create this list for you and inform you when it's done. This process usually takes up to eight weeks.

Removing/hiding mailing list posts

Q: Someone sent private info to our mailing list and it's now showing up on our mailing lists' archives and on search engines. Is there a way to get rid of it?

A: Yes. You can actually do this by yourself for every email showing up on lists.indymedia.org (posted after June 2004). Just login to your mailing list administration interface and click on the Hide option. Everything else is explained over there. If the email which is to be removed shows up on archives.lists.indymedia.org (posted prior to June 2004) then (and only then) you should ask the person to contact Listwork at listwork@sos.indymedia.org instead.

Lost Administration Password

Q: I forgot my lists' ADMINISTRATION password, what should I do?

A: We can only reset passwords for mailing lists hosted on lists.indymedia.org. To make sure the mailing list you are referring to is really hosted by us, look for the lists' informational page. An example for an informational page is http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/listwork , which is the informational page for the 'listwork' mailing list. Replace 'listwork' by the name of your mailing list to see if it is hosted on lists.indymedia.org.

Please send your request to listwork@sos.indymedia.org . Write down the exact name of the mailing list you manage. We will then send you a new administration password which you should change to your preferred one once you logged into the mailing list administration interface.

Attention: We cannot reset mailing list passwords without written consent by at least one of the the lists' current admins. A good way to prove that you are the list admin is to send your email request from the email address given on the bottom of the informational page of your mailing list. An example for such an informational page is http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/listwork . If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will see the email addresses of the mailing list admins.

Spam Filtering

Q: We receive too much spam on our mailing list. How can I setup spam filtering?

A: IMC UK provides a pretty nice how-to on this.

Spam Notification E-Mails

Q: How can I automate replies to the spam notification emails?

A: There are scripts for doing this for Mutt ... (please add links to scripts your MUA here)

Remotely Hosted Indymedia Mailing Lists

Q: We have a mailing list which is releated to Indymedia but hosted somewhere else.
Can we get it included on the Indymedia mailing list overview at http://lists.indymedia.org/?

A: Yes, we can add your offsite list to the Indymedia mailing list overview.

Please send your request to listwork@sos.indymedia.org . Note down the URL of the webpage which explains how to subscribe to and unsubscribe from your mailing list. If there is no such web page, please send us information on how (un)subscriptions to the list are handled.

As soon as we have all required information, we will change the Indymedia mailing list overview page correspondingly and let you know when we are done.

Attention: Please give evidence that you are the list admin of the list you would like to have a link added for. We cannot add lists without written consent by the lists' admin (or the admin of the mailing list server this list is hosted on).

Renaming Mailing Lists

Q: How can I have my mailing list renamed?

A: Please send your request to listwork@sos.indymedia.org . Please give the name of the list that you need renamed and what it should be renamed to. Once the renaming is done, we will send you a confirmation by email.

Attention: Please give us some evidence that you really are the list admin of the list you would like to have renamed. We cannot rename lists without written consent by the lists' admin. A good way to prove that you are the list admin is to send your email request from the email address given on the bottom of the informational page of your mailing list. An example for such an informational page is http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/listwork . If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will see the email addresses of the mailing list admins.

Remove Mailing Lists

Q: We don't need our list any more. How can we get rid of it?

A: Please send your request to listwork@sos.indymedia.org . Please give the name of the list that you want to be deleted. Make sure you have announced the removal to the list at least two weeks in advance.

Attention: Please give us some evidence that you really are the list admin of the list you would like to have deleted. We cannot delete lists without written consent by the lists' admin. A good way to prove that you are the list admin is to send your email request from the email address given on the bottom of the informational page of your mailing list. An example for such an informational page is http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/listinfo/listwork . If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will see the email addresses of the mailing list admins.

Discussing Mailing List Administration

Q: It would be good to learn from other mailing list admins and to exchange thoughts and strategies. Where can I discuss list administration or moderation issues with other list admins and moderators?

A: Please subscribe to the list-admins list.

Other

Q: I have another question concerning the ADMINISTRATION of a mailing list which is not answered here. Is there another place?

A: Yes. Have a look at the list manager manual of GNU Mailman, our mailing list server software. If this still does not answer your question, please send your question to listwork@sos.indymedia.org.

-- JiBe - 02 Jan 2004

-- AlsteR - 21 Jan 2005 - RT removed, updates

-- CaD - 01 Jun 2008 - added "remove lists"