Mailing List Policies

OpenSolaris Mail List Policies

• OpenSolaris.org uses Mailman version 2.1.13. For more information visit the Mailman site.
  
• For full documentation on List Administrator options, go here.

General List Information

Lists are created as part of the collective instantiation process. Additional lists must be requested via the website-admin@opensolaris.org alias.

Requests are reviewed by the Website Engineering Team, who will determine whether a list request will be granted, dependent upon the followings factors:

• The list should not cover existing areas of discussion.
• The list should have a reasonable expectation of traffic (10+ members, several threads per day).
• The additional list fits within the capacity of available resources, including how the size or usage of the proposed list will affect the existing mail system(s).

The specific list naming conventions for OpenSolaris.org lists are as follows:

• [name]-discuss AT opensolaris DOT org - (Default list - General discussions)
• [name]-dev AT opensolaris DOT org - (Developer discussions)
• [name]-notify AT opensolaris DOT org - (Notifications for code putbacks)
• ug-[name]osug AT opensolaris DOT org - (User Group discussions)

Any mailing lists may be locked or closed, have their names or other configurations modified, etc. by the Website Engineering Team without the consent of a particular list owner if resource usage, verifiable complaints, and/or Sun business needs require it.

The Website Engineering Team maintains backups of the mail list server for disaster recovery only. In the event an entire list is removed we may be able to do complete restoration, however the Website Engineering Team cannot recover individual settings, subscriber lists, or specific archives for a list.

Default list configuration

These are the default settings for each new mailing list that is created by the Website Engineering Team. List owners are allowed to change these settings, but should refrain from doing so unless they are comfortable with how the change relates to their administrative duties. If you are unsure of making a change to an existing setting, please read the manual and direct any questions to website-admin@opensolaris.org.

GENERAL OPTIONS

Hide the sender of a message, replacing it with the list address (Removes From, Sender and Reply-To fields)
[No]

Should any existing Reply-To: header found in the original message be stripped?
[No]

Where are replies to list messages directed?
[Poster]

Send password reminders to, eg, "-owner" address instead of directly to user.
[No]

Suffix for use when this list is an umbrella for other lists, according to setting of previous "umbrella_list" setting.
[-owner]

Notifications

Send monthly password reminders?
[No]

Send welcome message to newly subscribed members?
[Yes]

Send goodbye message to members when they are unsubscribed?
[Yes]

Should the list moderators get immediate notice of new requests, as well as daily notices about collected ones?
[Yes]

Should administrator get notices of subscribes and unsubscribes?
[No]

Send mail to poster when their posting is held for approval?
[Yes]

Emergency moderation of all list traffic.
[No]

Default options for new members joining this list.
[Filter out duplicate messages to list members]

Check postings and intercept ones that seem to be administrative requests?
[Yes]

Maximum length in kilobytes (KB) of a message body.
[256]

Maximum number of members to show on one page of the Membership List.
[30]

Should messages from this mailing list include the RFC 2369 (i.e. List-*) headers?
[Yes]

Should postings include the List-Post: header?
[Yes]

Discard held messages older than this number of days.
[30]

Digest options

Can list members choose to receive list traffic bunched in digests?
[Yes]

Which delivery mode is the default for new users?
[Regular]

When receiving digests, which format is default?
[Plain]

How big in Kb should a digest be before it gets sent out?
[30]

Should a digest be dispatched daily when the size threshold isn't reached?
[Yes]

Header added to every digest
[None]

Footer added to every digest
[%(real_name)s mailing list %(real_name)s@%(host_name)s]

How often should a new digest volume be started?
[Monthly]

Privacy options

Advertise this list when people ask what lists are on this machine?
[Yes]

What steps are required for subscription?
[Confirm]

Is the list moderator's approval required for unsubscription requests?
[No]

List of addresses which are banned from membership in this mailing list.
[To be managed by global site admin]

Who can view subscription list?
[List Owner]

Show member addresses so they're not directly recognizable as email addresses?
[Yes]

By default, should new list member postings be moderated?
[No]

Action to take when a moderated member posts to the list.
[Hold]

Text to include in any rejection notice to be sent to moderated members who post to this list.
[None]

Non-member filters
[All filters should managed by global site admin. If you wish to add individual users you may, but no wildcards]

Action to take for postings from non-members for which no explicit action is defined.
[Hold]

Should messages from non-members, which are automatically discarded, be forwarded to the list moderator?
[Yes]

Must posts have list named in destination (to, cc) field (or be among the acceptable alias names, specified below)?
[Yes]

Ceiling on acceptable number of recipients for a posting.
[10]

Spam Filter Rules

[Do not alter Spam Filter Rules as they are Managed by SpamAssassin]

Spam management will be handled by the global list administrator on the Website Engineering Team. We are using Apache SpamAssassin to manage the incoming mail and flag suspect senders. If you notice issues with specific senders, or feel that inappropriate messages are coming through, please notify the Website Engineering Team at website-admin@opensolaris.org. Do NOT change any settings under the:

Privacy options >> Spam filters

We continually monitor and update the SpamAssassin software with newer versions as they are released.

Administrator and Moderator duties

Each OpenSolaris mailing list should have at least one administrator and 1-2 moderators. 

The Administrator(s) and Moderators are expected to be members of the mail list, receive and read all communications sent to the list and regularly monitor use of the list for appropriate conduct. The Administrator(s) and Moderators are expected to communicate with Website Engineering Team using the website-admin@opensolaris.org alias regarding significant problems or inappropriate conduct by list members.

Specific tasks for list Administrators include moderating list traffic (accept/reject messages based on merit) and resolving membership issues such as incorrect subscriptions or member difficulty in adding/removing/changing their membership status.

Specific Moderator duties are limited to approving and rejecting messages based on merit.

Non-Member message handling

We would recommend that you not allow non-members to post to your list, except on case-by-case basis (i.e. per mail moderation). However, you may choose to add approved senders to the list using the Non-member filters option listed in the Default Settings section above. If you do choose to allow individual non-member senders, please do not add wildcards. Also, please note that the list of non-member senders may be removed by the Global List Admin at any time if results in inappropriate messages being sent to your list.

Cause for Removal

In the event a list is no longer needed or list traffic has dropped off to the point where the list should be decommissioned, please notify website-admin@opensolaris.org. 

If a moderator or administrator no longer has ability to manage their list duties, they should attempt to find new moderators within the ranks of the list membership. If they are unable to find a new list admin or moderator they should notify website-admin@opensolaris.org.

Lists which are closed due to owner request, lack of an eligible owner, policy violation, or other reasons will be archived for three months, and then permanently purged from the system. When a list is purged, all archives, subscriber lists, and settings will be deleted, unless we have reason to preserve the archives for legal, research, or archival purposes.

In addition to list administrator management, lists are subject to review by the Website Operation team, based on the OpenSolaris TOU, and may be deactivated and/or terminated due to insufficient traffic (no posts in the last month or less than 3 posts in the last 3 months) or poor management of non-member messages accumulating in moderator queues.

Mailing List Notification Emails

Below are basic email templates that are sent from the system in the event of subscriptions, removals and holds.

Mailing list subscription confirmation notice

Mailing list subscription confirmation notice for mailing list LISTNAME##

We have received a request from ADDRESS@DOMAIN for subscription of your email address, "ADDRESS@DOMAIN",
to the LISTNAME@opensolaris.org mailing list. To confirm that you want to be added to this mailing list,
simply reply to this message, keeping the Subject: header intact. Or visit this web page:

http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/confirm/LISTNAME/TOKEN

Or include the following line - and only the following line - in a message to
LISTNAME-request@opensolaris.org:

confirm TOKEN

Note that simply sending a `reply' to this message should work from most mail readers, since that usually
leaves the Subject: line in the right form (additional "Re:" text in the Subject: is okay).

If you do not wish to be subscribed to this list, please simply disregard this message. If you think you
are being maliciously subscribed to the list, or have any other questions, send them to 
TOKEN-owner@opensolaris.org.

List Owner Subscription/Removal Notification

USER NAME <ADDRESS@DOMAIN> has been successfully [SUBSCRIBED/UNSUBSCRIBED] to LISTNAME.

List Owner/Moderator Request(s)

The LISTNAME@opensolaris.org mailing list has N request(s) waiting for your consideration at:

http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/admindb/LISTNAME

Please attend to this at your earliest convenience. This notice of pending requests, if any, will be
sent out daily.

Pending posts:
From: ADDRESS@DOMAIN on Tue Jan 26 04:41:57 2010
Subject: XXXXXXXXX
Cause: Post by non-member to a members-only list

Sender message awaiting moderator approval

Your mail to 'LISTNAME' with the subject

XXXXX

Is being held until the list moderator can review it for approval.

The reason it is being held:

Post by non-member to a members-only list

Either the message will get posted to the list, or you will receive
notification of the moderator's decision. If you would like to cancel
 this posting, please visit the following URL:

http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/confirm/LISTNAME/TOKEN

no-reply@opensolaris.org usage

All system mail that originates from mailman will utilize the mailman@opensolaris.org alias, which is staffed by the Website Engineering Team. The use of 'no-reply' as the sender/reply-to is only used in rare cases were we need to provide a one-way email alert to a large cross-section of users. In these cases, the body of the mail will contain additional information regarding further communication.

Mailing List Usage Policies

Knowing and Staying On Topic

We have a large number of lists set up, covering everything from highly technical engineering projects to user groups of people new to OpenSolaris. Please familiarize yourself with the list descriptions and list archives before sending messages. 

Crossposting

As a general rule we discourage posting the same message to multiple OpenSolaris lists. There are several exceptions in cases where the content crosses multiple areas of interest; so we ask that list member use discretion when crossposting. 

Language and Flaming

Posting inappropriate and/or abusive language aimed at a fellow list member is forbidden. This includes obscenities, verbal harassment, or comments meant to antagonize. 

For more information on general Internet-wide Netiquette guidelines, see RFC 1855.

NOTE: We have list members in over 80 countries, and some members may not have a firm grasp of the English language. Be careful with how you express your emotions and humor when sending mail to a list, as what is considered funny and offensive varies culture to culture.

HTML Posts and Attachments

Many current email clients are set up to send mail in other than plain text format by default, such as RTF, HTML. These settings render email unreadable by some members so we have set mailman to convert all HTML to plain text for all messages on OpenSolaris lists. Please refrain from sending attachments unless it is necessary and always try to reduce attachment size as much as possible by consolidating and compressing all attachments.  (i.e. TAR, ZIP the files you attach).

Private vs. List Mail

When replying to a message please decide if it's of general interest to the mailing list first. Posts that do not contribute to the thread content or are aimed at a single individual should be sent by private e-mail to the subscriber(s) concerned.