===== Interacting with Majordomo-based Mail lists (mlists) on SDF =====
==== Intro ====
Since the early days of networked computing email has been used for group comunications which takes advantage of its ability to address a message to multiple recipients. SDF hosts several email lists or "mlists" which are managed via //Majordomo//, a mlist manager. Unlike more modern mlist managers which generally have a web interface, //Majordomo// interaction is via short commands sent via email to a mail alias generally of the same name. On SDF //Majordomo// commands are sent to ''majordomo@sdf.org'' (the domain may be left off when logged into SDF shell session). These commands and more are documented in the ''majordomo(8)'' manpage (type '//man majordomo//' to view within your SDF shell session). A condensed help offering is also available via the 'help' command sent directly to //Majordomo//.
==== SDF Mlist Basics ====
Although there are several commands listed in the //Majordomo// documentation users only needs to know a few of them. For simplicity the examples below make use of the native BSD ''mail(1)'' email client used within an SDF shell session:
# get the majordomo help documentation:
$ echo 'help' | mail -s 'Majordomo help' majordomo@sdf.org
# get a list of SDF hosted email lists:
$ echo 'list' | mail -s 'list of SDF mlists' majordomo@sdf.org
# get info on a specific SDF mlist:
$ echo 'info XYZ' | mail -s 'Info on XYZ mlist' majordomo@sdf.org
# subcribe to a specific mlist:
$ echo 'subscribe XYZ' | mail -s 'Subscribe to XYZ' majordomo@sdf.org
# unsubscribe to same mlist:
$ echo 'unsubscribe XYZ' | mail -s 'Unsubscribe to XYZ' majordomo@sdf.org
Note that the //-s 'subject line'// entries shown above are strictly informational; //Majordomo// doesn't read them.
If you wish to subscribe using an email address other than the one associated with your SDF account simply append it to the end of the command line:
# subscribing to list XYZ using some other email address:
$ echo 'subscribe XYZ me2@frog.bog' | mail -s 'Subscribe to XYZ' majordomo@sdf.org
For security purposes mlist subscription requests generally require an additional authorization string be sent back to ''majordomo@sdf.org'', similar to when setting up an online account on the Internet. You may also need to explicitly include your email address even if it's the one associated with your SDF account:
# example majordomo mlist confirmation:
$ echo 'auth 5033d5d2027b51a2 subscribe XYZ sdf_usr@sdf.org' | mail -s 'confirm subscription' magordomo
If you ever need a reminder as to which -- if any -- SDF mlists you are currently subscribed to:
# show my SDF mlist subscriptions:
$ echo 'which' | mail -s 'Current mlist subscriptions' majordomo@sdf.org
==== Reading the Mlist Archives ====
While //Majordomo// supports digests and archive file requests it appears most SDF mlists don't offer these so the only option for reading archived messages is browsing them from within an SDF shell session. The public mlist archives are stored under the following directory on the SDF cluster (the main SDF hosts):
/sys/pkg6_amd64/share/majordomo/archives/
Simple listings of the various mlist archives can be achieved using common Unix command pipes:
# show top-level SDF mlist listing:
$ cd /sys/pkg6_amd64/share/majordomo/archives/
$ ls -1 | sed 's/\..*$//' | sort -u | rs
afitnuke-l guiche-list minecraft-l sdfarc-l
anonradio-l idahofreaks-l misbehavin sdfedu-l
bts-loss indaba-l modeltheory-l sealug-l
comp-l insight-l newguard-l sras-l
cw-l jax_joxe-l osgroup-l truthy-l
discuss-l jh-l partitions-list twenex-l
educators-l kaire-list piziali_family twosigma-l
fourquad-l lycevents piziali_lifegroup uktour
green-l lyct-l plan9-l vintage-l
# list all archives of a particular mlist:
$ cd /sys/pkg6_amd64/share/majordomo/archives/
$ ls uktour* | rs
uktour.0209 uktour.0211 uktour.0502 uktour.0504 uktour.0507
uktour.0210 uktour.0212 uktour.0503 uktour.0505
These archives are just MBox-formatted email files viewable directly via a pager like ''more(1)'' or ''less(1)'':
# reading the uktour.0209 archive using more(1):
$ more /sys/pkg6_amd64/share/majordomo/archives/uktour.0209
You can use ''/^Subject:'' within ''more(1)'' or ''less(1)'' to jump to the Subject line of each message; pressing ''**.**'' repeats the last command.
Still, using an actual mail user agent (MUA) will probably improve the readability. Below is an example using the previously illustrated native BSD ''mail(1)'' MUA:
# reading the uktour.0209 archive using mail(1):
$ mail -f /sys/pkg6_amd64/share/majordomo/archives/uktour.0209
For guidance on using ''mail(1)'' see [[traditional_mail_1_mailx_1|An Introduction to Various BSD mailx style E-mail Clients on SDF]].
There is also **mabro** , an SDF user-contributed SDF Mlist Archive BROwser -- just a shell script -- which uses the forementioned //mail// MUA to make browsing the mlist archives a bit easier. **mabro** is located on the SDF cluster at ///sys/sdf/bin/mabro//. Basic usage is shown below:
$ /sys/sdf/bin/mabro -h
Mlist Archive BROwser for SDF public email list archives.
usage: mabro -h|-l|-t|
-h prints this helpful message
-l prints sorted listing of ALL archives
-t top-level listing of all mlists
grep(1) compatible queries, ie. '^anon'
$ /sys/sdf/bin/mabro -t
afitnuke-l guiche-list minecraft-l sdfarc-l
anonradio-l idahofreaks-l misbehavin sdfedu-l
bts-loss indaba-l modeltheory-l sealug-l
comp-l insight-l newguard-l sras-l
cw-l jax_joxe-l osgroup-l truthy-l
discuss-l jh-l partitions-list twenex-l
educators-l kaire-list piziali_family twosigma-l
fourquad-l lycevents piziali_lifegroup uktour
green-l lyct-l plan9-l vintage-l
$ /sys/sdf/bin/mabro radio
SDF mlist archives matching "radio":
[01] anonradio-l.1507 [30] anonradio-l.1712 [59] anonradio-l.2005
[02] anonradio-l.1508 [31] anonradio-l.1801 [60] anonradio-l.2006
[03] anonradio-l.1509 [32] anonradio-l.1802 [61] anonradio-l.2007
[04] anonradio-l.1510 [33] anonradio-l.1803 [62] anonradio-l.2008
[05] anonradio-l.1511 [34] anonradio-l.1804 [63] anonradio-l.2009
[06] anonradio-l.1512 [35] anonradio-l.1805 [64] anonradio-l.2010
[07] anonradio-l.1601 [36] anonradio-l.1806 [65] anonradio-l.2011
...
Enter item [#], do new [s]earch, [l]ist ALL mlists, or [q]uit:
Once an archive is selected it opens in the //mail(1)// MUA for which only a handful of commands need to be used for basic message viewing:
^ mail cmd ^ description ^
| **//N//** | display message number //N// |
| **+** / **-** | show next / previous message |
| **h** | refresh message listing |
| **x** | exit //mail// (returns to browser mode) |
| **z** / **z-** | page up / down message listing |
| **f /** | search for thread containing //// |
Messages display using your PAGER (//more// is default); use arrow keys, page up/down, or spacebar to navigate or '**q**' to quit.
**Note**: the archives are //read-only// and can't be modified so accidentally (or intentionally) deleting messages has no effect.
==== Additional Info ====
=== References: ===
* Majordomo v1 FAQ (mostly of interest to admins): [[http://manual.sdf.org/majordomo/FAQ]]
* Majordomo wikipedia page: [[wp>Majordomo_(software)|Majordomo_(software)]]
* archive of //GreatCircle.com/majordomo//: [[https://web.archive.org/web/20120102123822/http://www.greatcircle.com/majordomo/]]
=== Books covering Mojordomo: ===
* //Managing Mailing Lists: Majordomo, LISTSERV, Listproc, and SmartList// by Alan Schwartz
* //Managing Internet Information Services// by Cricket Liu et.al.