Mailman General FAQ

Overview

This article answers frequently asked questions regarding Mailman Administration.

This article is divided into the following sections:

What is Mailman?
For what purposes is Mailman used?
Who can create a Mailman mailing list?
How do I create a mailing list?
How do I get on a mailing list?
How do I send email to a list?
How do I get off a mailing list?
How do I find what lists are available to subscribe to?
How do I find out what lists I am subscribed to?

Troubleshooting

1. What is Mailman?
Mailman is software that allows organizations to create and manage mailing lists. Mailing lists can be used to communicate with a group of people via email. It is very similar to the Majordomo software that we currently use on campus for creating and managing lists. However, it has some additional features not available in Majordomo. Mailman will be replacing Majordomo as the mailing list software used on campus.

2. For what purposes is Mailman used?
Mailman is used to create, join, and manage email-based discussion groups. Unlike Majordomo (our previous mailing list software), Mailman is web-based, making it easier for users to manage their accounts and for list owners to administer their lists.

3. Who can create a Mailman mailing list?
All faculty, staff, and officially recognized student organizations are allowed to create a new list.

4. How do I create a mailing list?
You can request a new list using the Mailman mailing list request form.

5. How do I get on a mailing list?

Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Mailman Lists web page at http://ls.oswego.edu.

2. Click on the name of the list you wish to subscribe to.

3. Fill in the requested information on the form. Minimally, this includes your email address, password, and password confirmation. A password is needed for each list you subscribe to so that you may edit mailing list-specific preferences.

4. Click the Subscribe button.

If you do not see the list you wish to subscribe to listed on the http://ls.oswego.edu/ web page, then the list may not be publicly advertised. In this case, you would need to go to http://ls.oswego.edu/mailman/listinfo/listname where listname is the name of the list. For example, if the list was called johndoe-list, you would need to go to http://ls.oswego.edu/mailman/listinfo/johndoe-list. Then continue following the above steps starting with Step 3.

6. How do I send email to a list?
Follow these steps:

1. Compose a new mail message with your email client software.

2. In the TO: field, type the address of the mailing list. For example, if the name of the mailing list was "johndoe-list", the list address would be mailto:johndoe-list@ls.oswego.edu

3. Compose and send the message as you would any other email.

​7. How do I get off a mailing list?
Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Mailman Lists web page at http://ls.oswego.edu.

2. Click on the name of the list you wish to unsubscribe from.

3. Go to the section marked "LISTNAME subscribers" (usually found
   near the bottom of the page).

4. There should be a button marked "Unsubscribe or Edit Options."
   Enter your email address in the box beside this button and press
   the button.

5. You should be brought to a new page which has an "Unsubscribe"
   button. Press it to unsubscribe. This will send a confirmation message to the email address you are unsubscribing from the list.

6. Check the email of the address you are unsubscribing and click on the link included in the email to confirm the unsubscription. This step is needed to make sure that no one else is unsubscribing you from the list.

If you do not see the list you wish to unsubscribe from listed on the http://ls.oswego.edu/ web page, then the list may not be publicly advertised. In this case, you would need to go to http://ls.oswego.edu/mailman/listinfo/listname where listname is the name of the list. For example, if the list was called johndoe-list, you would need to go to http://ls.oswego.edu/mailman/listinfo/johndoe-list. Then continue following the above steps starting with Step 3.

8. How do I find what lists are available to subscribe to?
Visit the main Mailman Lists web page at http://ls.oswego.edu. All public lists will be featured there.

9. How do I find out what lists I am subscribed to?
Follow these steps:

1. You will need to login to a list that you know you are already subscribed to. Go to http://ls.oswego.edu/and click on the name of the list. Or if the list is not publicly advertised, go to http://ls.oswego.edu/mailman/listinfo/listname replacing listname with the actual name of the list.

2. Go to the section marked "LISTNAME subscribers" (usually found
   near the bottom of the page).

3. There should be a button marked "Unsubscribe or Edit Options."
   Enter your email address in the box beside this button and press
   the button.

4. You should be brought to a new page which has a "Password"
   field. Enter your password for the list.

5. Near the middle of the next page, you will see a button called "List my other subscriptions." Click this button and you will be presented with a listing of all the other Mailman lists you are currently subscribed to.

Additional Information

Need additional information or assistance? Contact CTS.