Question: I want to interact with Mailman, for example to subscribe, unsubscribe or change the configuration of my list, via email commands rather than having to visit a Web page. Is that possible?

Answer:

Mailman has a limited set of commands that it will recognize via email. The majority of Mailman's options are available exclusively by the Web interface.

Commands should be sent to <listname>-request@mailman.u.washington.edu (where <listname> is replaced with the name of the list and the "<>" are not included).

Mailman will recognize the following commands (note that words in "<>" are required and words in "[]" are optional. Do not include the "<>" or "[]" in the actual commands):

confirm <confirmation-string>
Confirm an action. The confirmation-string is required and should be supplied within the mailback confirmation notice.

end
Stop processing commands. Use this if your mail program automatically adds a signature file.

help
Print this help message.

info
Get information about this mailing list.

lists
See a list of the public mailing lists on this GNU Mailman server.

password [<oldpassword> <newpassword>] [address=<address>]
Retrieve or change your password. With no arguments, this returns your current password. With arguments <oldpassword> and <newpassword> you can change your password.

If you're posting from an address other than your membership address, specify your membership address with `address=<address>' (no brackets around the email address, and no quotes!). Note that in this case the response is always sent to the subscribed address.

Please note that if you are subscribed with an email address ending in @u.washington.edu you should use your UW NetID and password (rather than the password Mailman assigned to you for the list) to gain access to Mailman Web pages.

set ...
Set or view your membership options.

Use `set help' (without the quotes) to get a more detailed list of the options you can change.

Use `set show' (without the quotes) to view your current option settings.

subscribe [password] [digest|nodigest] [address=<address>]
Subscribe to this mailing list. Your password must be given to unsubscribe or change your options, but if you omit the password, one will be generated for you.

The next argument may be either: `nodigest' or `digest' (no quotes!). If you wish to subscribe an address other than the address you sent this request from, you may specify `address=<address>' (no brackets around the email address, and no quotes!)

unsubscribe [password] [address=<address>]
Unsubscribe from the mailing list. If given, your Mailman list password (NOT your UW NetID password!) must match your current password for the list. If omitted, a confirmation email will be sent to the unsubscribing address. If you wish to unsubscribe an address other than the address you sent this request from, you may specify `address=<address>' (no brackets around the email address, and no quotes!)

who password
See everyone who is on this mailing list. The roster is limited to list administrators and moderators only; you must supply the list admin or moderator password to retrieve the roster.