$OpenBSD: README.OpenBSD,v 1.2 2001/11/12 13:29:21 wilfried Exp $
Throughout this document $mailmandir is the directory mailman is installed
in. This defaults to /usr/local/lib/mailman. If you install your ports
elsewhere, exchange that path with /usr/local. Most of this text is
taken from the file INSTALL of the mailman distribution, with some
OpenBSD specific comments added. It's a good time to become root, now.
1) Final Steps for Installation
- Configure your web server to give $mailmandir/cgi-bin permission to
run CGI scripts by adding
ScriptAlias /mailman/ "$mailmandir/cgi-bin/"
to /var/www/conf/httpd.conf. There is also a <Directory> directive
you should have a look at.
- Copy the Mailman, Python, GNU and OpenBSD logos to a location
accessible to your web server. E.g. with Apache, you've usually
got an `icons' directory that you can drop the images into. You want
to copy $mailmandir/icons/mailman.jpg, $mailmandir/icons/PythonPowered.png,
$mailmandir/icons/gnu-head-tiny.jpg and /var/www/htdocs/openbsd_pb.gif
to this directory.
You then want to add a line to your $mailmandir/Mailman/mm_cfg.py
file which sets the base URL for the logos. For example:
IMAGE_LOGOS = '/images/'
The default value for IMAGE_LOGOS is '/icons/'. Read the
comment in Defaults.py.in for details.
- Configure your web server to point to the Pipermail public
mailing list archives:
For example, in Apache:
Alias /pipermail/ "/var/spool/mailman/archives/public/"
Now restart your web server.
- IMPERATIVE! IMPORTANT! DO THIS! YOU'LL BE SORRY IF YOU DON'T!
Set up the crontab entries. Mailman runs a number of cron jobs
for its basic functionality. Add $mailmandir/cron/crontab.in as a
crontab entry by executing these commands:
% cd $mailmandir/cron
% crontab -u mailman crontab.in
- Look to see if there is special instructions about hooking your
MTA up to Mailman. If so, there will be a README.<yourMTA> file
in $mailmandir/../../share/doc/mailman.
- Add aliases for `mailman' and `mailman-owner' to the system's
mail alias database. These aliases should point to whoever is
ultimately responsible for the Mailman installation. Here are
instructions for those running sendmail:
1. Assuming your email is fred@flintstone.com, add the following
lines to the file /etc/mail/aliases:
mailman: fred@flintstone.com
mailman-owner: mailman
2. Run the program 'newaliases'.
If you don't run sendmail, consult the documentation of your
mail transport program for information on adding these aliases.
2) Customize Mailman
- The file $mailmandir/Mailman/Defaults.py contains a number of
defaults for your installation. If any of these are incorrect,
override them in $mailmandir/Mailman/mm_cfg.py, NOT IN Defaults.py!
See the comments in Defaults.py for details. Once a list is
created, editing many of these variables will have no effect
(you need to configure your lists through the web admin
interface or through the command line script bin/config_list).
Specifically check to make sure the variables DEFAULT_HOST_NAME
and DEFAULT_URL are correct. The latter MUST end in a slash.
The (un-)install process will not (delete/)overwrite an existing
mm_cfg.py file so you can freely make changes to it.
- Create the site password using:
% $mailmandir/bin/mmsitepass <your-site-password>
This password can be used anywhere that individual user or
mailing list administrator passwords are required, giving the
mailman site administrator the ability to adjust these things
when necessary.
3) Getting started
- Create a list named `test'. To do so, run the program
$mailmandir/bin/newlist. You will be prompted for the name of the
list, as well as the email address of the person running the
list. Put your own email address as the list administrator's
address.
- Running newlist will generate a list of aliases that must be
added to the system. If you are running Sendmail, you may add
the lines output directly to the file /etc/mail/aliases. You have
then to run the command 'newaliases' (all as root). Now the
mailing address for your list as well as its administrative
addresses will be set up. If you are not running Sendmail,
consult your MTA's documentation for information on adding
aliases.
- You will receive email instructions on how to visit the list you
just created. Using these instructions, subscribe to the
mailing list. Once you have subscribed (which requires a
confirmation step!), send a message to the list, and see if you
get it. If so, then you have successfully installed Mailman,
and set up your first list!
4) Troubleshooting
If you encounter problems with running Mailman, first check the
"Common Problems" section, below. If your problem is not covered
there, check the file FAQ. Then check for a log entry from Mailman
in your syslog.
If you encounter an error, send an error report to
mailman-users@python.org or if it is a port specific problem, mail the
${MAINTAINER} directly or ask on ports@openbsd.org. Include a
description of what you're doing to cause the problem, and the relevant
lines from your syslog. Also include information on your operating
system and version of Python.
5) Common Problems
Problem: All Mailman web pages give a 404 File not found error.
Solution: Your web server has not been set up properly for handling
Mailman's cgi commands. Make sure you've:
1) Configured the web server to give permissions to
$mailmandir/cgi-bin/
2) Restarted the web server properly.
Consult your web server's documentation for instructions
on how to do these things.
Problem: I send mail to the list, and get back mail saying the
list is not found!
Solution: You probably didn't add the necessary aliases to the system
alias database, given to you when you ran the newlist
command. If you did add them, you likely did not update
the alias database, or your system requires you to run
newaliases explicitly. Refer to section 3 above for
more information.
Problem: I use Postfix for my MTA and the mail wrapper programs
are logging complaints about the wrong GID.
Solution: Install mailman with the following command:
% FLAVOR=postfix make install
Problem: I send mail to the list, and get back mail saying,
"sh: wrapper not available for sendmail programs"
Solution: Your system uses sendmail restricted shell (smrsh). You
need to configure smrsh by creating a symbolic link from
the mail wrapper ($mailmandir/mail/wrapper) to the directory
identifying executables allowed to run under smrsh. Have
a look at the manpage of smrsh(8).
