Mailman is the new Queens College mailing list server. It replaces Majordomo, the older program we've been running up until now. It has more features like administration via the Web and Web accessible, searchable archives (for lists that have enabled archiving).

A list server is a central location for mailing lists. A mailing list is a forum for communication; in some cases, a mailing list can be as simple as a list of e-mail addresses to which you can send occasional notices or bulletins, or it can be as complicated as an interactive online community, with many ongoing discussions between members of the list.

Go to the main Mailman webpage at http://mailbox.qc.edu. Click on the link for "list users." On this page you will find the list of publically-available mailing lists.

Some mailing lists are considered "private" and are not listed on this page. To subscribe to or access those lists' user pages, please obtain the list page URL from the list administrator.

Go to the list users' page by connecting to the main Mailman webpage (http://mailbox.qc.edu) and clicking the link for list users. You must then click on the name of the list to which you wish to subscribe. On the next page, enter your e-mail address and a password for list access and click "Subscribe."

In order to prevent another user from subscribing you to lists to which you do not wish to belong, most list administrators have set up their lists to require you to send a confirmation e-mail, indicating that you wish to subscribe to the list. Follow the instructions in the e-mail you receive from Mailman to join the list. If you do not reply to the confirmation message you will not be subscribed to the list.

You will receive a monthly e-mail from Mailman notifying you of your list subscriptions and providing you with a password reminder. However, if you need to know about your subscriptions immediately, go to the list users' page by connecting to the main Mailman webpage (http://mailbox.qc.edu) and clicking the link for list users. You must then click on the name of the list to which you are subscribed. At the bottom of this page, enter the e-mail address you have registered with this list and click "Edit options." On the next page, in the section labeled "Your other mailbox.qc.edu subscriptions," enter your list password and click "List my other subscriptions" to get a complete list of the mailing lists to which you are subscribed.

Go to the list users' page by connecting to the main Mailman webpage (http://mailbox.qc.edu) and clicking the link for list users. You must then click on the name of the list to which you are subscribed. At the bottom of this page, enter the e-mail address you have registered with this list and click "Edit options." On the next page, in the section labeled "Unsubscribing," enter your list password and click "Unsubscribe."

Send your e-mail to listname@qc.edu. If you are allowed to post to the list, your message will be sent to all list members. Unless you or your list administrator has turned the "metoo" option off in Mailman, you will also receive a copy of your message.

Go to the list users' page by connecting to the main Mailman webpage (http://mailbox.qc.edu) and clicking the link for list users. You must then click on the name of the list to which you are subscribed. At the bottom of this page, enter the e-mail address you have registered with this list and click "Edit options."

You can leave most of your options at the default settings, which have been tailored to suit what has been, in our experience, the needs of the average user. If you do wish to change a setting, each option contains a detailed description of its function, usually located directly beneath the option itself.

If the list administrator has enabled archiving for your list, you can access the archives by going to the list users' page (click the link for "list users" at http://mailbox.qc.edu). Click on the name of your list. Click on the link at the top of the page that says "Archives." If the list administrator has chosen to make the archives private, you may have to enter your e-mail address and list password to access them.

Normally when someone posts to a list, the post is immediately distributed to all of the subscribers. The digest option means that postings are accumulated (according to a chosen criteria) and then distributed as a single, aggregated mailing. The advantage for digest subscribers is that, for high traffic lists, instead of dealing with, say, 30 messages per day in their mailbox, they only receive one message per day that contains the 30 postings. This option is usually recommended only for high traffic lists. The available digesting criteria are time (number of days) and/or size (when the digest reaches a certain size, i.e. 40KB). You can pick the time interval and/or size limit you want. This option is only available if it has been turned on by the list administrator.

The list administrator has the capability to withhold posts from the list for a variety of reasons. If this is a moderated list, all postings will receive the "administrative" e-mail reply and must be approved by the list owner. You may have been unsubscribed from the list, or the list administrator may have requested that all messages from you be approved by him/her first. It is also possible that your message has accidentally been detected as "spam" by Mailman's anti-spamming technology. If in doubt, please contact your list administrator.

Go to the list users' page by clicking the "list users" link at the main Mailman page (http://mailbox.qc.edu). Click on the name of a list to which you belong. At the bottom of the page, enter your e-mail address and click the "Edit Options" button. Under the label "Forgot Your Password?" click the button labeled "E-mail my password to me."

Please send e-mail to mailman-owner@mailbox.qc.edu.