Re: mailing-list managers (Re: majordomo gone?)

[Steve Lamb <morpheus@rpglink.com>]

Monday, June 19, 2000, 6:27:33 AM, Robert wrote:
> I'd be grateful if some people on the list would share their opinions
> on other mailinglist-managers.

> I've only used majordomo until now and don't know anything about others.

    IMHO there is no better manager than Listar.  In all ways I detest
Majordomo Listar is a dream.

    Security is cookie based.  Sounds bad but it is quite nice.  You send it
an admin message and it sends it back to you with a unique string embedded in
the message.  You then forward that message back to Listar and it completes
the request.  Why is this better?  Any request is sent to you for completion.
Unless someone can intercept your email it is pretty hard to get around that
security.

    Listar (as of the latest version) has a web-based interface for users and,
IIRC, the administrators as well.  I've not played with it yet from the admin
side but the user side lets people do pretty much anything they are allowed to
do.

    It also does all modes in one run.  Digests are not a separate list, they
are just a flag on each user.  This was a major point on Majordomo, the
hellish mail loop for digesting to work.

    Listar has flags on the user.  Some the user can set, some he cannot.  All
are controllable from the email and web interface.  No need for a list for
that permission and a list for this permission.

    Listar is also quite fast in its execution.  It will sort the userlist so
mailers which will do batch sends will have all of the addresses in one area.
For example, Listar with Exim on this machine absolutely loves sending to some
domains where it pushes 20-30 addresses and then one single body.  Sure saves
on my limited bandwidth.

    I've not heard of a list so large that Listar cannot handle it.  IIRC one
person on the Listar support list has 50,000 or so users on one list.

-- 
         Steve C. Lamb         | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
         ICQ: 5107343          | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
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