GNU Mailman

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GNU Mailman

Developer:	Barry Warsaw
Latest release:	2.1.9 / September 12, 2006
Use:	Mailing lists
License:	GPL
Website:	mailman

GNU Mailman is a GNU package for managing electronic mailing lists. It is free software/open source software, distributed freely under the GNU General Public License. Similar software programs include Majordomo, ezmlm, Enemies of Carlotta and SubEtha Mail; Mailman's chief distinction is its easy-to-use Web interface for list administration.

Mailman is written in the Python programming language. It can work with any common Unix mail server software, including Postfix, Sendmail and qmail.

The integration with the free mail server software exim (which is used by the Debian GNU/Linux by default) is probably best: Using special configuration rules, exim knows which addresses are used by Mailman and automatically forwards all mails which are handled by Mailman to Mailman, without having to set customized aliases for each individual mailing list, as it is custom with most or all other mail servers.

User features include the Web interface, built-in archiving of messages, automatic processing of bounce messages, digest mode, and spam filtering.

By default, Mailman sends out a reminder message on the first of the month (local time) to all subscribers, causing many netizens to proclaim the first of the month to be "Mailman Day" as the messages start trickling in from all around the globe.