ezmlm-send(1) ezmlm-send(1)
NAME
ezmlm-send - distribute a message to a mailing list
SYNOPSIS
ezmlm-send [ -cCrRvV ] [ -h header ] dir
DESCRIPTION
ezmlm-send reads a mail message and sends it to the mail-
ing list stored in dir. If dir/archived exists, ezmlm-
send records a copy of the message in the dir/archive/
directory.
If dir/indexed exists, ezmlm-send adds the subject, author
and time stamp of the message to the index, kept with the
message in a subdirectory of dir/archive/. The subject is
processed to make reply-subject entries identical to orig-
inal message subject entries. The subject index is used
for the archive retrieval functions of ezmlm-get(1). Use
ezmlm-idx(1) to create a subject index from a preexisting
archive.
Subject and author lines are decoded if they are encoded
per rfc2047. When split lines are unfolded, the number of
escape sequences for iso-2022-* character sets is mini-
mized. For instance, two consequtive toascii sequences are
reduced. This processing is done for the character set
specified in dir/charset. The result of this process is
the same for a given subject, irrespective of encoding.
At the beginning of the message, ezmlm-send prints a new
Mailing-List field with the contents of dir/mailinglist.
It rejects the message if there is already a Mailing-List
field.
ezmlm-send then prints all the new fields listed in
dir/headeradd, followed by an appropriate Delivered-To
line.
ezmlm-send deletes any incoming fields with names listed
in dir/headerremove.
ezmlm-send removes MIME parts specified in dir/mimeremove
before archiving and distribution of the message.
If dir/text/trailer exists, ezmlm-send copies it to the
end of the message send to the list. The trailer is not
added to the archived version of the message. If the mes-
sage is of a composite MIME type, the trailer will be
added as a separate part with encoding and character set
as per dir/charset. If the message is not a composite
MIME type, the trailer will be added to the message in the
same encoding as the message itself. Due to the way
fillers are interpreted, the trailer may not be readable
for base64 encoded messages of non-composite MIME types
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ezmlm-send(1) ezmlm-send(1)
(very rare).
If dir/prefix exists, ezmlm-send will prefix the subject
line with the first line of this file. A space will be
added to separate prefix from the subject text. prefix is
ignored for sublists. If dir/prefix contains a ``#'', the
last ``#'' will be replaced by the message number. Any
prefix starting with text of a reply indicator (``Re:'',
``Re[n]:'', etc) will cause problems. The prefix may be
rfc2047 encoded. Rfc2047 Iso-2022-* encoded prefixes must
end in ascii.
The prefix feature and especially the message number fea-
ture modify the message in violation with Internet mail
standards. The features have been implemented by popular
demand. Use at your own peril.
If dir/sequence exists, ezmlm-send will use the contents
as a header, after which it puts a space and the message
number. No actual checking of the contents of dir/sequence
is done. ``X-Sequence:'' is a suggested text, if this fea-
ture is used. Note: the sequence number used is the local
message number. It is usually inadvisable to use this for
sublists, although this option, if selected, is still
active for sublists.
ezmlm-send does not distribute bounce messages: if the
environment variable SENDER is set, and is either empty or
#@[], ezmlm-send rejects the message.
OPTIONS
-c (Default.) Posts are sent to all subscribers.
-C Posts are not sent to SENDER. This is somewhat less
efficient, since ezmlm-send has to parse the sub-
scriber database.
-h header
If the list is a sublist, i.e. dir/sublist exists,
header is required in all messages to the list.
This option is used when ezmlm is used to run a
sublist of a lists run by a different mailing list
manager that uses header rather than ``Mailing-
List'' to identify messages from the list. Any-
thing after the first colon (if present) in header
is ignored.
-r Copy incoming ``Received:'' headers to the outgoing
message.
-R (Default.) Do not copy incoming ``Received:''
headers, except the one added by the (last)
listhost, to the outgoing message. In some cases,
especially for sublists, the messages can have a
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large number of ``Received:'' headers. This may
lead to bounces for some users due to sendmail
``hopcounts'' set too low somewhere in the mail
path. These users can subscribe and receive warning
and probe messages, but no list messages, unless
the number of ``Received:'' headers is reduced.
Pre-list ``Received:'' headers are of little inter-
est to normal list subscribers. ``Received:'' head-
ers are still copied to the archive and available
to anyone from there for message tracking purposes.
-v Display version information.
-V Display version information.
SUBLISTS
If dir/sublist exists, ezmlm-send changes its behavior in
several ways.
First, if SENDER is set, and the first line of dir/sublist
has the form parent@parenthost, ezmlm-send insists that
SENDER have the form parent...@parenthost.
Second, ezmlm-send demands that the message already have a
Mailing-List field.
Third, ezmlm-send does not add its own Mailing-List field.
Fourth, ezmlm-send uses the incoming message number for
the outgoing message, if the list is not archived and the
incoming SENDER has the correct format. This allows you
to refer bounce warning recipients to the main list for
archive retrieval of the missed messages. If the sublist
archives message, it is assumed that missed messages will
be retrieved from the sublist archive.
The list still increments dir/num for each message. If the
sublist is archived, use of incoming message number for
archive storage would be a security risk. In this case,
the local sublist message number is used.
OPTION USAGE
In general, the use of a prefix is discouraged. It wastes
subject line space, creates trouble when MUAs add non-
standard reply indicators. However, many users expect it
not because it is useful, but because they are used to it.
The -C switch prevents posts from being set to SENDER.
Rather than just copying out subscriber address files,
ezmlm-send has to parse them to look for SENDER. This
makes it less efficient. Also, it is useful for the SENDER
to see the post to know that it has made it to the list,
and it's context to other subscribers, i.e. where it came
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within the traffic of messages on the list.
Avoiding SENDER as a recipient is useful in small lists,
such as small teams with varying members, where ezmlm
serves mainly as an efficient tool to keep the team con-
nected without administrator intervention. Here the over-
head of subscriber list parsing is negligible.
CHARACTER SETS
If the list is indexed, ezmlm-send will keep a message
index. rfc2047-encoded subject and from lines will be
decoded. If dir/charset exists, ezmlm-send will eliminate
redundant escape sequences from the headers according to
the character set specified in this file. Only character
sets using escape sequences need this support. Currently,
supported are iso-2022-jp*, iso-2022-kr, and iso-2022-cn*.
Only iso-2022-jp has been tested extensively.
The character set can be suffixed by ``:'' followed by a
code. Recognized codes are ``Q'' for ``Quoted-Printable'',
and ``B'' for ``base64''.
For this affects the format of the trailer, if a trailer
is specified. For unencoded simple messages, the trailer
is simply suffixed to the outgoing message. For simple
encoded messages, the trailer is added in the same encod-
ing as used for the message, if this is ``quoted-print-
able'' or ``base64''. Otherwise it is added as is. For
composite MIME messages, the trailer is added as a sepa-
rate part, with the character set and encoding specified
in dir/charset.
SEE ALSO
ezmlm-get(1), ezmlm-idx(1), ezmlm-manage(1), ezmlmmake(1)
, ezmlm-sub(1), ezmlm-unsub(1), ezmlm-reject(1),
ezmlm(5)
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© 1994 Man-cgi 1.15, Panagiotis Christias <christia@theseas.ntua.gr>