A brief guide to the minordomo.conf file.
by Pasi "inpasible" Prnnen


The minordomo.conf file sets the defaults for a number of parameters in
minordomo mailing lists. This document contains explanations on each setting,
step by step.

Buckle up, please, here we go.


COMMANDS USED IN MINORDOMO.CONF


SMTP_server=

This setting regulates what server to use for sending mails. It defaults to
localhost and most of the time you can leave as it is. If there's a special mail
gateway on your network then type the name of it.
	SMTP_server=localhost
	SMTP_server=hostname.domain.top
	SMTP_server=mailgateway.domain.top


domain=

PLEASE NOTE that you MUST supply a domain name for minordomo to use!
If you just have one machine, as i have, then put the name of that machine as
the domain. If you have a mail gateway serving your entire domain, then use just
the domain-name.
	domain=hostname.domain.top
	domain=domain.top


directory=/var/lib/minordomo

Minordomo has to know where to look for the lists and this setting does the
trick. The default is /var/lib/minordomo but you can change that to whatever you
like. Be sure to change the appropriate line in minorweb.pl too! The default
location is fine so you can leave it as it is for now.



admin=

This setting controls to whom the errors are mailed. It defaults to
root@localhost and you can safely leave it that way, but you might change it to
postmaster@localhost. (That's usually an alias for root.)
	admin=postmaster@localhost


archive=*

Archives are usually good to have, and the default for this setting (*) means
that every list gets a web archive. If you don't think your lists should be
public then set archive to nothing. If you have one or more list(s) that you
would like to have on the web, then name just those.
	archive=
	archive=mylist openlist freelist


list_cmd=

Who are on your list? If you set list_cmd to * then you and your members will be
able to ask minordomo about it. The default is however nothing, which means that
it's only you, the administrator of the system, that can read the lists of
subscribers. You may of course set the permission separately for each list.
...and it's safe to leave this setting as it is for now. You can always change
it later.
	list_cmd=*
	list_cmd=openlist freelist


open_lists=

What lists are open for postings? Yep, this setting decides exactly that. The
default (nothing) means that there are no open lists at all, and i think you
should consider changing it. Either you make all lists open for postings with *
or specify which list that receive postings. After all, you want people to be
able to post to your mailing-lists, right? 
	open_lists=*
	open_lists=mylist openlist freelist secretlist soapbox


closed_lists=

By putting a list name after closed_list you make it into a moderated or
announcement-only list. You may make all your list like that with * or you can
keep them interactive by using the default. I like to keep things open so i
usually use the default.
	closed_lists=*
	closed_lists=secretlist soapbox 



COMMANDS ALSO USED IN THE CONFIG FILES


max_size=0

A zero means that there's no limitation on the size of postings on any lists,
unless specified in the config file for that list. 1024 would mean that each
message has a maximum of 1k and 65536 would mean 64k. (Yes, the number is in
bytes!) A reasonable size limit is 8k since minordomo doesn't support
attachments.
	max_size=8192


set_re_to=no

This setting regulates if minordomo should change the Reply-To: header. The
default is no which means a reply goes to the sender, not the list. That's a
good way to keep chit-chat from a list. Setting it to yes makes the list more
social by making the replies go to the list.
	set_re_to=yes

re_to_address=$list@$domain

If set_re_to is 'yes', this is the address to put in the Reply-To: header.
If not specified, it defaults to the list address. This is useful for, eg.,
announcement mailing lists, where discussion should go to a different
address.
	re_to_address=discussion@domain.com


subject_prefix=

The default for this setting is nothing and it means that Minordomo leaves the
subject line as it is. ...which makes it harder for the recipient to know if it
came from a list. Setting subject_prefix to [mylist] (with the brackets) would
add that at the beginning of each subject line. Your list-members will like
that, i'm sure of that. Be sure to change mylist into whatever the name of your
list is. Having all list displaying the same prefix isn't a good idea...
	subject_prefix=[mylist]


URL=

Where do you want to have your public archive of postings? The default (nothing)
puts in in the same folder as the list itself. A logical place would otherwise
be somewhere among apache's files, in the heart of the webserver.
	URL=http://host.domain.net/archive/mylist

template=

This is only used by the web interface (minorweb.pl). It is the path to an
HTML template file to use when displaying list archives. Please read
README.template for a description of this file.
	template=/var/www/template.html
