ezmlm(5)

NAME
ezmlm - format of ezmlm directory

OVERVIEW
An ezmlm directory, dir, stores information about an ezmlm mailing list. ezmlm-make creates dir; ezmlm-sub and ezmlm-unsub manipulate the subscriber list stored under dir; ezmlm-manage handles administrative requests automatically; ezmlm-send sends a message to all subscribers listed in dir and also maintains a message archive and message subject index if the list is configured to do so. ezmlm-reject rejects messages that have an empty subject, or a subject consisting of only a command word; ezmlm-return handles bounces; ezmlm-warn warns users for which messages bounce and eventually removes them from the subscriber list. ezmlm-idx can create a subject index from an existing list archive. ezmlm-get manages message, index, and thread retrieval from the archive, as well as the generation of message digests; ezmlm-cron provides a restricted interface to cron for the generation of digest generation trigger messages; ezmlm-store queues messages of moderated lists and sends a moderation request to the moderator(s); ezmlm-moderate processes moderation requests to accept the queued message to the list via ezmlm-send, or to return the message to the sender; ezmlm-clean cleans up the moderation queue and returns to the sender any messages that have timed-out; ezmlm-gate posts messages that come from a SENDER in an address database, and sends remaining messages out for moderation; ezmlm-check is used to diagnose problems with ezmlm mailing list configuration; ezmlm-issub and ezmlm-issubn determine if a SENDER is a subscriber or a member of a collection of addresses; ezmlm-tstdig determines if it is time to create a new digest based on the number and volume of messages and the amount of time that has passed since the last digest was issued; ezmlm-request can be used to answer ezmlm commands in the subject line easing migration from other mailing list managers. It can also function as a global interface mimicking the interface of other mailing list manager. ezmlm-glmake can set up the global interface, and ezmlm-glconf can create a configuration file for the global interface from your lists.

SUBSCRIBERS
dir/subscribers is a directory containing the subscriber list. ezmlm-manage allows automatic subscription if dir/public exists. The list is hashed into 53 files, named @ through t in ASCII. A nonexistent file is treated as an empty file. Each file contains a series of addresses. An address can be any string of non-NUL characters up to 400 bytes long. Each address is preceded by the letter T and followed by a NUL. For reliability, when an address is added to or removed from the mailing list, the relevant file is recreated under a temporary name inside dir/subscribers and then moved into place. dir/key is a binary file. ezmlm-manage uses dir/key to create confirmation numbers. Anyone who can guess the contents of dir/key can forge subscription requests. ezmlm-make does not put much effort into making dir/key difficult to guess; for better security, you should add some random garbage to dir/key.

ARCHIVE
dir/archive is a directory containing messages previously sent to subscribers. ezmlm-send archives all new messages if dir/archived exists. If dir/indexed exists, ezmlm-send also maintains a message subject and author index. Messages sent to the mailing list are numbered from 1 upwards, whether or not they are archived. dir/num is the number of messages sent so far followed by ':', followed by the cumulative amount of message body that has passed ezmlm-send stored as kbytes * 4 (4 corresponds to 1kb). dir/archive has subdirectories, each subdirectory storing up to 100 messages. Message number 100m+n, with n between 0 and 99, is stored in dir/archive/m/n. For example, message number 15307 is stored in dir/archive/153/07. The message index is stored in the file index in the same subdirectory of dir/archive holding the corresponding messages. Thus, the subject index contains up to 100 entries. The subject index contains message subjects that are normalized so that the original message and all replies have the same entry. The subject index is used for advanced message retrieval functions. For safety, the subject index is created under a temporary name inside dir/archive and then moved into place. ezmlm-manage will ignore message files without the owner-execute bit set. ezmlm-send turns on the owner-execute bit after safely writing the message to disk. ezmlm-make by default adds ezmlm-get to dir/manager to handle -get, -index, and -thread requests. If ezmlm-make is invoked with a digcode command line argument, digest creation is enabled by putting this argument on the ezmlm-get command line.

BOUNCES
dir/bounce is a directory containing bounce messages. ezmlm-return stores several types of files here.

DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS
ezmlm-make sets up four files to control mailing list deliveries. Each file is a series of delivery instructions in dot-qmail format. dir/editor handles incoming mailing list submissions. ezmlm-make sets up dir/editor to invoke ezmlm-send to immediately forward each message to all subscribers and then to run ezmlm-warn. dir/owner handles incoming messages for the mailing list's owner. ezmlm-make sets up dir/owner to store messages in dir/Mailbox and then to run ezmlm-warn. dir/bouncer handles incoming bounce messages. ezmlm-make sets up dir/bouncer to invoke ezmlm-return. ezmlm-warn is no longer invoked here due to the load it places on systems with many large lists with many bounces. dir/manager handles incoming administrative requests. ezmlm-make sets up dir/manager to invoke ezmlm-get, ezmlm-manage, and then ezmlm-warn. dir/moderator handles incoming message accept and reject requests for moderated lists. ezmlm-make sets up dir/moderator to invoke ezmlm-moderate, and .BR ezmlm-clean .

DIGESTS
ezmlm-get can create digests if it is invoked from the command line, from dir/editor, or from dir/manager. The program functions in slightly different ways in these 3 settings (see ezmlm-get(1)). To enable automatic digests for a mailing list, use the ezmlm-make -d switch. To also enable the generation of digests at specific times dictated by mailed trigger messages, a digcode should be specified on the ezmlm-get command line. This can be done by specifying digcode as a fifth argument to ezmlm-make when setting up the list. digcode must be alphanumeric and is case-insensitive. To generate trigger messages, use ezmlm-cron(1) as an interface to crond(8) or use crond directly. dir/num contains the number of the last message processed, followed by ':' and a number that is increased by 1 for each 256 bytes of message body text processed. The latter number is used by ezmlm-tstdig to determine if a new digest is due. dir/dignum contains the contents of dir/num at the time of the last regular digest creation, followed by a ':', followed by a timestamp. It is updated after each regular digest is sent. dir/digissue contains the issue number of the last regular digest. It is incremented for each regular digest sent. The following user crontab entry (all on one line) generates a digest of the list list@host.domain at 1600 every day:
      00 16 * * * /var/qmail/bin/qmail-inject list-dig.digcode
Alternatively, ezmlm-cron can be used:
      % ezmlm-cron -t 16:00 list@host digcode
ezmlm-get can also be run from the shell: To generate a digest to list-digest@host from the list housed in ~joe/list:
      % ezmlm-get ~joe/list
Like other ezmlm-get replies, digest can be sent in several formats. See ezmlm-get(1) for more info.

MODERATION
There are three aspects of moderation: moderation of posts, moderation of subscriptions, and "remote administration", i.e. giving the moderator the right to (un)subscribe any user. ezmlm handles these three aspects separately. The two first aspects enhance security, while the third decreases security, but makes list administration considerably easier. By default, the moderator database is the same for all three functions. While "remote administration" and subscription moderation always use the same database, the moderators for message moderation can be different. Even with subscription moderation, the user has to verify the request. This is to ensure that the user initiating the request really controls the address. ezmlm-manage options exist to disable the user handshake, which may be useful in some circumstances. For moderation options, the moderators are by stored in a subscriber list in moddir/subscribers. By default moddir is dir/mod. Moderators can be added and removed with:
    ezmlm-sub
    moddir
    moderator@host
    ezmlm-unsub
    moddir
    moderator@host
For subscription moderation, touch dir/modsub after adding moderator(s). For remote administration, touch dir/remote. If the contents of these files start with a leading forward slash, it is assumed to be the name of moddir subscription moderation. If both files exist and start with a forward slash, the dir/remote contents are ignored. Moderators are stored in a subscriber list in the subscribers subdirectory of moddir. If no directory names are specified, the default, dir/mod, is used. In all cases, the subscribers subdirectory of the base directory must exists/be created. Moderation of messages is achieved by creating dir/modpost and modifying dir/editor to invoke ezmlm-store. ezmlm-store stores the message in dir/mod/pending and sends a moderation request to all moderators stored in moddir. If dir/modpost does not exist, ezmlm-store posts messages directly, and ezmlm-clean does nothing. If dir/modpost contains a directory name starting with a forward slash, this directory is used as moddir for message moderation. Moderators are stored in a subscriber list in the subscribers subdirectory of moddir. If no directory names are specified, the default, dir/mod, is used. dir/moderator is linked to dot-accept-default and dot-reject-default. It handles replies from the moderators. In addition to a moderator list, the directories dir/mod/pending, dir/mod/accepted, and dir/mod/rejected must exist. These directories contain the message moderation queue. If dir/mod/modtime it determines the minimal time in hours that messages wait in the moderation queue, before they are returned to sender with the message in dir/text/mod-timeout. If a -help command is send for a moderator and dir/modsub or dir/remote exist, a more detailed help message stored in dir/text/mod-help will be sent together with the regular help. This text should not contain secrets. If dir/text/mod-help does not exist, dir/text/help will be sent. If a -list command is sent for a moderator and dir/modsub or dir/remote exist, and the ezmlm-manage -l command line switch is specified, a subscriber list will be returned. If an -edit.file command is sent for a moderator and dir/remote exist, and the ezmlm-manage -d command line switch is specified, text/file is returned together with an ezmlm cookie. The remote administrator may return an edited version of the file, which will be stored, provided that the cookie is valid. See ezmlm-manage(1) for more info.

TEXT
dir/text is a directory containing files sent out by ezmlm-manage in response to administrative requests:

top Introducing ezmlm. This is placed at the top of each response.

bottom
    Explaining how to use ezmlm. This is placed at the bottom of each response.

sub-confirm
    Explaining how to confirm a subscription request.

sub-ok
    Acknowledging successful subscription.

sub-nop
    Acknowledging a subscription request for an address already on the mailing list.

sub-bad
    Rejecting a bad subscription confirmation number.

unsub-confirm
    Explaining how to confirm an unsubscription request, and explaining how to figure out the subscription address.

unsub-ok
    Acknowledging successful unsubscription.

unsub-nop
    Acknowledging an unsubscription request for an address not on the mailing list.

unsub-bad
    Rejecting a bad unsubscription confirmation number.

get-bad
    Rejecting a bad archive retrieval request.

digest
    Text copied into the Administrativia section of the digest. Usually, this will contain subscription info for the digest, as well as information on how to post to the list.

trailer
    If this files exists, it is copied to the end of all messages to the list.

faq Sent in response to the faq command. Usually contains frequently asked questions and answers specific for the mailing list.

info
    Sent in response to the info command. Usually contains a descripition, policy, etc, for the list. The first line should in itself be a very brief description of the list.

bounce-warn
    Pointing out that messages have bounced.

bounce-probe
    Pointing out that a warning message has bounced.

bounce-num
    Explaining that ezmlm-return has kept a list of bounced message numbers.

dig-bounce-num
    Explaining that digest messages have bounced. All other text files are used for both the main list and the digest list.

bounce-bottom
    Separating the bounce message.

mod-help
    is set to list moderators issuing a -help command. It contains instructions for moderators, but it is relatively trivial for a non-moderator to read it. Don't put secrets here.

mod-reject
    is the returned to the sender of a rejected post.

mod-timeout
    is returned if the message timed-out without moderator action.

mod-sub
    is added to the text confirming subscription and unsubscription instead of bottom and the requesting message, for actions that were approved by a moderator. Not copying the requesting message hides the moderator identity from the subscriber.

mod-request
    is the text sent to the moderators to request moderator action on a posted message.

mod-unsub-confirm
    Requesting that the moderator confirm a request to subscribe. If this file does not exist, sub-confirm will be used.

mod-unsub-confirm
    Requesting that the moderator confirm a request to unsubscribe. If this file does not exist, unsub-confirm will be used.

edit-do
    Instructions sent to the remote administrator together with a copy of a dir/text file and editing instructions.

edit-list
    A list of editable files in dir/text with a one-line description send to a remote administrator in response to a -edit command.

edit-done
    Sent to the remote administrator after an edited dir/text file has been successfully saved.

Several tags in the text files are replaced by ezmlm programs. All programs replace the tag <#l#> with the name of the list or the list-digest, as appropriate for the request, and <#h#> with the hostname for the list. ezmlm-send and ezmlm-get replace <#n#> with the current message number in added headers from dir/headeradd and text files. ezmlm-get does this for digest messages, where the current message is the number of the first message in the digest. ezmlm-manage replaces the tag <#A#> anywhere on a line with the subscription address, and <#R#> anywhere on a line with the address the subscriber must reply to. Only the first tag on any line is processed.

For backwards compatibility, ezmlm-manage replaces the line !A in any of these files with the name of the subscription address. It replaces the line !R in sub-confirm and unsub-confirm with the address that the subscriber must reply to.

ezmlm-store replaces the tag <#A#> anywhere on a line with the address for accepting the message, and <#R#> anywhere on a line with the address for rejecting the message. Only the first tag on any line is processed.

For backwards compatibility, ezmlm-store also replaces the line !A with the address for accepting the message and the line !R with the address for rejecting the message.

OUTGOING MESSAGE EDITING
dir/headerremove is a list of bad header field names, one per line. ezmlm-send removes these header fields from all outgoing messages. ezmlm-make sets up dir/headerremove to remove Return-Path, Return-Receipt-To, and Return-Path fields. dir/headeradd is a list of new header fields. ezmlm-send adds these fields to every outgoing message. ezmlm-send sets up dir/headeradd to add X-No-Archive: yes and Precedence:bulk. If dir/mimeremove exists, ezmlm-send removed parts with the corresponding content-types from composite MIME messages. If the ezmlm-reject dir argument is specified, simple MIME messages of these content-types are rejected. If dir/mimereject exists, and the ezmlm-reject dir argument is specified, simple MIME messages of these content-types, or composite MIME messages with any body part of these content-types are rejected. If dir/sequence exists, the first line is added as a header to all outgoing messages, followed by a space and the message number. The message number is useful for archive retrievals, since some mail systems do not reveal the return-path to the user. NOTE: Sublists have their own message counter. Adding a sequence header from a sublists will give you the sublist message number which is different from the main list message number. dir/prefix is a subject prefix. If this file exists, its contents are prefixed to the subject of the post in the outgoing message. The archived message is not processed. Attempts are made to not duplicate an existing prefix in replies. Think twice before using this option. A prefix takes unnecessary space on the subject line and most mail clients can easily filter on other headers, such as 'Mailing-List:'. If dir/prefix contains a single '#', this will be replaced by the message number. The use of this feature is inadvisable and violates internet mail standards. However, it is very popular in e.g. Japan. If you must use this feature, make sure you are aware that you may be causing problems to users, sublists, etc. dir/text/trailer is a message trailer. If this file exists, it's contents are copied to the end of outgoing messages. Only lines terminated with new-line are copied. No trailer is copied to the archived version of the message.

MISCELLANY
The first line of dir/mailinglist is a line of text. ezmlm-send creates a new Mailing-List field, showing the contents of dir/mailinglist, in every outgoing message. If dir/listid exists, ezmlm programs create a new List-ID field, showing the contents of the first line of dir/listid, in every outgoing message. The list-id should be unique and within name space controlled by the owner. It should remain constant even if lists move and be of the format
    List-ID: optional_text <unique_id.domain>
This header would result from a dir/listid file containing ``optional_text <unique_id.domain>''. See http://www.within.com/~chandhok/ietf/listid.shtml for more info. The first lines of dir/outlocal and dir/outhost give the outgoing name of the mailing list. These are used by ezmlm-manage and ezmlm-send to construct sender addresses for outgoing messages. If dir/sublist exists, this mailing list is a sublist, redistributing messages from a parent mailing list. The first line of dir/sublist is the name of the parent list. This affects the behavior of ezmlm-send. If dir/qmqpservers exists, ezmlm-send and ezmlm-get will use qmail-qmqpc(1) to send posts and digests. Other mail will use the normal qmail mechanism. If qmail-qmqpc is modified correctly, server IP addresses listed one per line in dir/qmqpsevers will be tried in order, rather than the default servers specified in /var/qmail/control. If dir/msgsize exists, it is assumed to contain ``max:min'', where ``max'' is the maximum size in bytes of an acceptable message body, and ``min'' the corresponding minimal size. Either will be ignored if zero or omitted. If the ezmlm-reject command line specifies the list directory, messages not meeting the size criteria are rejected. If dir/charset exists, the first line is assumed to represent a valid MIME character set, which is used for all outgoing MIME messages sent by ezmlm-get and the message moderation programs. The character set string may be suffixed with ':' and 'Q' or 'B' to send all outgoing text (ezmlm messages, digest table-of-contents, moderation requests, etc) encoded in ``Quoted-Printable'' or ``base64'' encoding. By default, no encoding is done, which may result in the transmission of characters with the high bit set. When encoding is specified, trigger messages and other parts of the reply that should not be encoded are sent as separate MIME parts. dir/lock is an empty file. Any program that reads or writes the subscriber list, or adds messages to the archive, locks dir/lock. dir/Log is an advisory log of subscription and unsubscription actions. WARNING: Log is not protected against system crashes. Log entries may be missing or corrupted if the system goes down. There is Log for each of the accessory address databases as well. Thus, the log for digest subscribers is dir/digest/Log. If enabled, these logs can be retrieved by remote administrators (see ezmlm-manage(1)). dir/digest contains items specific for the digest list. dir/digest/subscribers contains hash files of digest subscriber addresses. dir/digest/Log, dir/digest/bounce, dir/digest/lockbounce, and dir/digest/lock have functions for the digest list that mirror that of the corresponding files in dir. dir/sql contains SQL server access information for list that are configured to use an SQL database for storage. dir/tstdig is a timestamp used temporarily by ezmlm-tstdig(1) to coordinate digesting.

SEE ALSO
ezmlm-check(1), ezmlm-clean(1), ezmlm-gate(1), ezmlm-get(1), ezmlm-idx(1), ezmlm-issub(1), ezmlm-issubn(1), ezmlm-list(1), ezmlm-make(1), ezmlm-manage(1), ezmlm-moderate(1), ezmlm-request(1), ezmlm-return(1), ezmlm-send(1), ezmlm-store(1), ezmlm-sub(1), ezmlm-tstdig(1), ezmlm-unsub(1), ezmlm-warn(1), dot-qmail(5)