[BALUG-Admin] BALUG lists ... mailman list(?!), blank body with command in Subject: header

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Michael Paoli (Michael.Paoli@cal.berkeley.edu):

> I (over?-)tweaked the mailman list page - it's got just about nothing
> on it except bit to unsubscribe or edit options.  Could alternatively
> put it mostly to default, and just strip out the bits about subscribe
> and post ... but practically, don't know if it makes all that much
> difference.  Folks(/bots) could still subscribe via email.

It actually doesn't make any difference, especially if you make it
unadvertised.  

> Also, the "not advertised" - seems to work or mostly work.
> The only (maybe?) exception I see is if mail is sent to
> the mailman list with the command list - it does include
> itself in the list - but if one's emailing it anyway, maybe
> kind'a pointless for it to not show itself?

To make sure we're clear on what's being discussed, here, an
unadvertised list is one not displayed on the sitewide listinfo
page.  E.g., linuxmafia.com's sitewise listinfo page is:

http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo

That page lists eight mailing lists but not these two:

http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/Mailman
(and one other that is non-public)

I just e-mailed a test query of the command 'lists' to
mailman-request@linuxmafia.com:  It sent back a roster of the public
mailing lists plus mailing list Mailman (which it included even though I 
set its unadvertised flag).  The non-public other list was omitted.

It's possible that this behaviour was changed in a later Mailman
release.

For better or worse, hardly anyone uses the e-mail command interface;
it's quite obscure compared to the Web one.


> I think that's "quite close enough" for now, and "good enough" to go
> forward - with (pending) those adjustments to the text that gets sent.

Looks good.