[Mailman-Users] cannot add user or create mailing list

[Lucio Chiappetti]

Please advise if preferred policy on this list is reply to all or reply to 
list, and excuse if I did wrong.


On Tue, 29 Mar 2011, Mark Sapiro wrote:
> Lucio Chiappetti wrote:

>> Recently I decided to make an experiment, so I installed mailman 2.1.11
>> via the suse 11.3 distribution on my machine.

> When you install a downstream packaged Mailman, it is best to refer
> first to any documentation the packager provides.

yes thanks, that will be file /usr/share/doc/packages/mailman/README.SuSE
(somewhat hidden and unannounced, but it is there)

>> APACHE_SERVER_FLAGS in /etc/sysconfig/apache2, but I have no documentation
>> for it, and it seems that the site can be accessed ok
>>
>> (QUESTION 1)
>> Any Suse user can confirm this is unnecessary ?

De facto I found out that this flag is documented in README.SuSE. A 
command a2enflag (NOT applied during yast installation) applies all 
necessary changes to apache .conf files. They are equivalent to what I 
did, but simpler to use. So I reset things and did it, and will recommend 
that for our final installation.

--> question 1 solved


>> ----------------------
>>
>> Concerning sendmail, I followed the "method 2" (WITHOUT mm_handler)

> So all this seems to be working.

   yes. After I posted to mailman-users I also verified that creation of
   another list, adding members, removing members or lists via the
   linemode commands in mailman/bin also do work

   problems below appl(ied) only to the web interface

>> (QUESTION 2)
>> I hope the fact I always use the same test password is not a problem

> unless you have ALLOW_SITE_ADMIN_COOKIES = Yes in
> mm_cfg.py, this probably doesn't matter.

   thanks

>> ----------------------
>>
>> At this point I entered the admin web page of such a list [...]
>> If I try to subscribe via the mailman/listinfo/mailman page, I get instead
>> an error "you must supply a valid e-mail address"
>>
>> (QUESTION 3)
>> Why does that happen ? see also question 4

>> ----------------------
>>
>> (QUESTION 4)
>>
>> I tried also to create a new mailing list via the web interface (this
>> requires supplying the site password as well)
>>
>> this gives me instead an error
>> "Unknown virtual host: sax.iasf-milano.inaf.it "

> You are accessing the create CGI via a URL with host
> sax.iasf-milano.inaf.it, but the only host known to Mailman is
> poseidon.lambrate.inaf.it.

I have read the FAQ entries. I changed mm_cfg.py first from

>> DEFAULT_EMAIL_HOST = 'poseidon.lambrate.inaf.it'
>> DEFAULT_URL_HOST = 'poseidon.lambrate.inaf.it'

to

DEFAULT_URL_HOST = 'sax.iasf-milano.inaf.it'
DEFAULT_EMAIL_HOST = 'lambrate.inaf.it'

and ran bin/withlist -l -a -r fix_url

and finally to

DEFAULT_URL_HOST = 'sax.iasf-milano.inaf.it'
DEFAULT_EMAIL_HOST = 'poseidon.lambrate.inaf.it'

and did the same.

The first case (sax/lambrate) is similar to what we wish on the target 
system (a web server name, and the domain name as mail host)

The second case (sax/poseidon) is necessary in the test arrangement
to create valid e-mail addresses.

Both *mostly* work (if I use a list at poseidon type address for posting)
in the sense that the web interface works (so URL_HOST is what solves
questions 3 and 4.

I still have some problems when subscribing a new user, and concerning 
message archiving. I will post a separate request for clarity.


>> (QUESTION 5)
>> The arrangement on the target system will be more complicated.

because our aliases are mantained on the NIS master server. The master and 
slave servers are also the domain main and backup MX.

However the web server is on a third machine. A configuration like the one 
I use on my test machine (local sendmail aliases inherited from local 
mailman aliases, which "pipe" into local mailman executables) is likely 
to work there ...

... but we'd have to expose somehow this machine name in the e-mail 
address (we currently mask all behind the domain) or replicate all mailman 
aliases in the NIS maps as

xxxxx: xxxxx at mailmanhost

but I do understand we cannot use a CNAME for mailmanhost ?


-- 
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Lucio Chiappetti - INAF/IASF - via Bassini 15 - I-20133 Milano (Italy)
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