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Terminology - ezmlm-idx FAQ

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1.3 Terminology

This document uses a number of terms. Here are the meanings ascribed to them by the authors.

DIR
The base directory of the list.
SENDER
The envelope sender of the message, as passed to ezmlm by qmail via the $SENDER environment variable.
LOCAL
The local part of the envelope recipient. For ‘list-get-1@host’, it is usually ‘list-get-1’. If host is a virtual domain, controlled by ‘user-sub’, then local would be ‘user-sub-list-get-1’.
moddir
Base directory for moderators. Moderator email addresses are stored in a hashed database in moddir/subscribers/. By default, ‘moddir’ is DIR/mod/.

To add or remove moderators:

          % ezmlm-sub DIR mod moderator@host.domain
          % ezmlm-unsub DIR mod moderator@host.domain

dotdir
The second argument of ezmlm-make is the main .qmail file for the list. dotdir is the directory in which this “dot file” resides, i.e. the directory part of the ‘dot’ argument. This is usually the home directory of the user controlling the list (but NOT necessarily of the one creating the list). Thus, “dotdir” is ~alias/ if ‘root’ creates a list:
          # ezmlm-make ~alias/list ~alias/.qmail-list ...

“dotdir” is where the .ezmlmrc file is expected when the ezmlm-make(1) -c switch is used (see Customizing ezmlm-make operation).

ezmlm binary directory
The directory where the ezmlm-binaries are normally stored, as defined at compile time in conf-bin. This is compiled into the programs and does not change just because you have moved the program.
ezmlm-get(1)
This is a reference to the ezmlm-get.1 man page. Access it with one of the following:
          % man ezmlm-get
          % man 1 ezmlm-get

or if you have not yet installed ezmlm-idx (replace ‘x.y.z’ with the version number):

          % cd ezmlm-idx-x.y.z
          % man ./ezmlm-get.1

basedir
The list directory when referencing the list subscriber address database. For email addresses stored in a set of files within DIR/subscribers/, the “basedir” is DIR.
address database
A collection of email addresses stored in a set of files within the subscribers subdirectory of the basedir, DIR/subscribers/.
message moderator
An address to which moderation requests for posts to the list are sent. The moderation requests are formatted with ‘From:’-‘reject’ and a ‘To:’-‘accept’ default headers for moderator replies. A reply to the “reject” address leads to the rejection of the post. A reply to the “accept” address leads to the acceptance of the post. Any email address can be a moderator email address. Any number of moderator email addresses can be used. If a post is sent from a moderator email address, the moderation request is sent to that email address only. If a post is sent from an email address that is not a moderator, a moderation request is sent to all moderators.

The first reply to the moderation request determines the fate of the message. Further requests for the action already taken are silently ignored, while a request for the contrary action results in an error message stating the actual fate of the message. Thus, if you want to “accept” the message and it has already been accepted, you receive no reply, but if you attempt to “reject” it, you will receive an error message stating that the message already has been accepted.

Most lists are not message moderated. If they are, the owner is usually a “message moderator”, sometimes together with a few other trusted users.

For an announcement list, it is common to make all the “official announcers” “message moderators”. This way, they can post securely and “accept” their own posts, while posts from other users will be sent to this set of “official announcers” for approval.

subscription moderator
An email address where subscription moderation requests are sent. A subscription moderation request is sent after a user has confirmed her intention to subscribe. The subscription moderation request is sent to all moderators. As soon as a reply to this message is received, the user is subscribed and notified. Any email address can be a subscription moderator and any number of subscription moderators can be used.

Unsubscribe requests are never moderated (except when the ezmlm-manage(1) -U flag is used and the sender attempts to remove an address other than the one s/he is sending from). It is hard to imagine a legitimate mailing list that would want to prevent unsubscriptions.

remote administrator
When a remote administrator subscribes or unsubscribes a list member, the “confirm” request is sent back to the remote administrator, rather than to the subscriber's email address. This allows the remote administrator to (un)subscribe any list member without the cooperation of the subscriber at that address. Any email address can be a remote administrator and any number of email addresses can be remote administrators.

The set of email addresses that are “remote administrators” and “subscription moderators” are always the same. This set of email addresses can be “remote administrators”, “subscription moderators” or both.

For most lists, the owner would be the “remote administrator”, if s/he wishes to moderate messages, the owner would be the “message moderator” and if s/he wishes to moderate subscriptions the owner would also be the “subscription moderator”.

The list's “message moderator(s)” can be the same, but can also be set up to be completely different.

Changing list ``ownership''
Within this FAQ there are references to the need to check or change the list “ownership”. This is not a reference to the individual user who is the “list-owner”, but a reference to the ownership of the files by your operating system which make up the list and reside in DIR/.

To change the ownership of DIR/ and everything within:

          % chown -R user DIR
          % chgrp -R group DIR

Depending on your system/shell, it may be possible to combine these commands into either:

          % chown -R user.group DIR
          % chown -R user:group DIR