From: dlucy@sandr.COM (Douglas Lucy)
Subject: Re: Mailing lists with MMDF
Organization: S&R Software, Inc.
Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1992 17:33:00 GMT
Summary: It can be really simple...
Keywords: MMDF MAIL MAILING LIST

In article <BtwnDB.5q5@world.std.com> philp@world.std.com
(Philip D Pennie) writes:

> I have attempted to set up a list server that references a file for a 
> mailing list, using the ":include:/path/file" keyword in the alias file.
>
> I get a return message that the user does not exist.  Any suggestions?

The SCO ODT System Admin Guide (ODT-NET section, somewhere around page
188-190) tells you to use one of two formats for the list-of-recipients:

	list-outbound:	":include:/usr/list/of/addresses"

	or

	list-outbound:	</usr/list/of/addresses

I've found only the second of these two formats work. At least with
3.2.2 and the patches & kludges (read as SLS/EFS) I've added here.

> Also, what should the format of the file be?  

Okay, I'll tell you how I got mine set up, regardless of whether or
not it's SUPPOSED to be done like this.

	1. Decide on a name for the mailing list, the address everyone
	will send mail to for it to magically re-route to everyone on
	the list. Mine is called "blue-sky"

	2. Edit the list processor file in /usr/mmdf/table; it's
	called "alias.list". You need to add the following entries for
	each mailing list:

		An alias for incoming mail, destined for each member's
		mailbox. This you would make by:

			blue-sky:	blue-sky-outbound@list-processor

		An alias for the actual processing of the list. This
		will point to the file of addresses of everyone on the
		list:

			blue-sky-outbound:	</list/of/members

		And an alias for the person who will maintain the list
		of members. The name of this alias is merely
		convention; I guess you could call it anything:

			blue-sky-request:	dlucy

		So, now you've got three lines in
		/usr/mmdf/table/alias.list that look like:

			blue-sky:	blue-sky-outbound@list-processor
			blue-sky-outbound:	</list/of/members
			blue-sky-request:	dlucy

	3. Rebuild the mmdf database, by typing the following in the
	/usr/mmdf/table directory:

		./dbmbuild

	4. If you're sloppy with logins like I am, then you did all
	this as root and you'll need to correct the permissions on the
	files dbmbuild just created:

		chown mmdf *
		chgrp mmdf *

	5. Now, you've still got the MMDF deliver program running, and
	since I'm not convinced the thing EVER reads the database when
	it should, I look for the program "deliver" in a ps listing,
	kill it, and then re-execute the deliver command just as it
	looks in the boot script /etc/rc2.d/S*mmdf. It'll be the line
	that su's to mmdf and then executes "deliver".

	6. Ok, now the fun part. Edit the file that you told MMDF
	would be a list of all the member's names, make sure mmdf can
	read it, and then send mail to the mailing list. Did it work?

Are you confused yet? Well, the above steps worked for me. The only
addition I put in was an additional address in the list of mailing
list members. I put in "blue-sky-archive" in the list and then added
this line to /usr/mmdf/alias.list:

	blue-sky-archive:	"mmdf//mail/archives/blue-sky"

After following the same re-build steps for the MMDF database above in
steps 3-5, this additional line told MMDF to keep a copy of all
incoming mail to the list in the file /mail/archives/blue-sky.

It may not be what the manual tells you to do, but it worked for me.

Good luck!

-- 
[ W. Douglas Lucy, VP Technical Services, S and R Software, Inc. ]
[ dlucy@sandr.COM                                                ]