Re: Advice on mailing list software -- special requirements

[Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@meetinghouse.net>]

On 10/24/18 6:45 AM, rhkramer@gmail.com wrote:

On Wednesday, October 24, 2018 12:32:15 AM Miles Fidelman wrote:

> Yes, but you really need a PUBLIC static IP address, or things tend to

> get hairy.  Dynamic DNS will help, but only to a point.  And, a lot of

> ISPs really don't like it if you run servers at the edge. 

 

We are currently such a small group, I don't think it will be an issue -- if that changes, we can change.

Which - DynDNS or ISP objections?

The thing about dynamic DNS is that people cache DNS records - mail sent to the list WILL go to the wrong place on occasion.

Re. ISP objections - those objections sometimes take the form of active measures that block various kinds of traffic.

 

> Bummer.  But maybe another, larger, Linux user group might help you

> out?  I expect there might be somebody on this list who might volunteer

> (hint, hint).  Maybe somebody at a nearby university - I believe you

> have a few of those in the Lehigh Valley :-)

 

We've had somebody make such an offer, and we'll probably take them up on it -- I sort of wanted to try to set up a small mail list on one of my computers, as long as I didn't have to run a web server or a *nix style MTA

 

Now that is kind of hard to do.  All the mailing list servers that I've worked with require a rather intimate interconnection with the MTA that processes mail.  And that's before you "wire in" anti-spam and anti-virus filters.  And, you'll need a webserver for access to various administrative functions, and archive access.  Depending on the list server, you might also require a dbms.  Setting up list services can be an entertaining and educational exercise (also frustrating), but it's not simple.  (Actually, the simplest approach is using an MTA and managing lists in the alias file.)

Miles Fidelman

-- 
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is.  .... Yogi Berra