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Creating a majordomo mailing list for a virtual domain 12 April 2000

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In the past I've written a fair number of articles about majordomo. The most complex was about creating virtual domains for majordomo. I'm just now rereading that article in preparation for creating a new mailing list and I've realized that the process is inadequately documented. Consider this article a correction of that omission.

NOTE: It's been brought to my attention that some steps are missing from this article. Be sure to following the steps for the creation of a a new majordomo configuration file, one for each virtual domain, as shown in virtual domains for majordomo. Also read the addenda following that section 12 March 2001

The issues

The main idea surrounding virtual majordomo domains is the separation of data into different directories. This is more for our own peace of mind and to make things easy to find than it is for the convenience of majordomo. As such, I'm creating a mailing list for yourdomain.org. Let's call it fakelist. Don't bother subscribing. It does not exist.

All of the files for yourdomain.org mailing lists exist under /usr/local/majordomo/lists/yourdomain.org. I like this layout because it's easier to follow. You should pick a method and stick with it.

Step by step

These instructions are based upon the original instructions found at Installing a mailing list server - majordomo.

This section assumes you are creating a new list called newlist. Items in bold are commands you actually enter. Everything else is just a description of what you need to do. Items in italics you should change to your own values.

Note: I like to keep my archives in:

/usr/local/majordomo/lists/<mydomain.org>/<listname>.archive/

And my digests in

/usr/local/majordomo/lists/<mydomain.org>/digests/<listname>-digest/

You may wish to adjust my templates accordingly.

# cd /usr/local/majordomo/lists/yourdomain.org
# touch fakelist
# chown majordom:majordom fakelist
# echo 'config fakelist fakelist.admin' | mail majordomo@yourdomain.orgDon't forget the domain! This will create fakelist.config in the directory specified in step 1.
Modify fakelist.config which the previous step created. Change passwords, add footers, etc. You may also wish to see my list of Commonly Changed Configuration Items.
add a section to /etc/mail/aliases.majordomo.yourdomain.org for your list. Use the template text available from sample/majordomo.alias.txt. Remember to refer to the next section which deals with digests.
Create aliases in /etc/mail/virtusertable. A template is available from samples/majordomo.virtusertable.txt.
After modifying virtusertable, make sure you invoke the changes. I do this with:

makemap hash /etc/mail/virtusertable < /etc/mail/virtusertable
# newaliases
This invokes the changes intoduced in step 6.
Create the directories as shown in majordomo and virtual mailing lists - Creating Directories.
# killall -HUP sendmail
# echo 'subscribe fakelist' | mail majordomo@yourdomain.org (I suggest not doing this step as root).
Respond to any email that majordomo sends back to you. This is normally confirmation that you have supplied a valid email address and that you are subscribing yourself and not somebody else.
send a message to fakelist@yourdomain.org

If you want digests

By default, the above steps will give you a digest list. If you don't want a digest, remove the indicated lines from this sample/majordomo.alias.txt template as used in Step 6 from above. If you do want digests, and haven't removed the sections, follow these steps:

cd /usr/local/majordomo/lists/<yourdomain.com>/digests/
mkdir <listname>-digest
chown majordom <listname>-digest
chmod 750 <listname>-digest
mkdir <listname>-digest.archive
chown majordom <listname>-digest.archive
chmod 754 <listname>-digest.archive

Remember to create a separate list for your digest. Remember to specify moderate = yes during step 5. Follow steps 1-5

.info files

When a person subscribes to a list, they are sent a message, which can include custom information. You can include create a <yourlist>.info file and let that contain list-specific information (e.g. list rules, expected conduct, etc). You can create a list info file like this:

cd /usr/local/majordomo/lists/<yourdomain.org>
touch <listname>.info
chown majordom <listname>.info

The list maintainer can update this file via majordomo. For details, send a message to majordomo@<yourdomain.org> with help in the body of the message.

Finished

With all that work, you should now be able to use your virtual mailing lists. Try subscribing. See what happens. Remember, when you subscribe, you need to send to majordomo@yourdomain.org.

Please, if you notice any omissions or errors, please add your comments.

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