README ezmlmx

1. What is `‘ezmlmx’'?

ezmlmx is a (refactored) fork combining

• Dan Bernstein's ezmlm-0.53 amd
• Bruce Guenter's and Fred Lindberg's ezmlm-idx-0.44(4)

Mailing Listing Manager (MLM) to work with my

• fehQlibs and packaged in the
• slashpackage format while using
• (s/)qmail as MTA.

ezmlmx amends therefore my

• s/qmail,
• ucspi-ssl, and
• mess822x

packages while trying to preserve D. J. Bernstein's groundbraking SW develoments for current Unix systems.

2. What is a `‘Mailing Listing Manager’'?

A Mailing Listing Manager (MLM) is used

• to provide a (public) email address
• to be used as corresponding address for
• (pseudonymous) subscribers in order
• to share emails (and in general knowledge/news).

The main responsibility of a MLM is

• to allow a subscription of an email address,
• to verify the Subscriber,
• to forward any email to this list to it's Subscribers,
• to enable searching in a list archive, and
• to receive older mails, and finally
• to permit the Subscriber to (conditially) unsubscribe.

3. Types of Mailing Lists

We have

• public and
• private Mailing Lists.

The Mailing List

• may be moderated (by particular administrators) or
• open to any post by the subscribers.

A Mailing List

• might be solely addressable by email, or to
• provide a Web interface for reading archived mails,
• for subscription and unsubscribing, and
• potentially for administrative purposes.

ezmlmx based on s/qmail aimes to fulfill all these requirments, perhaps with third-party software.

4. Which other `‘Mailing List Manager’' do exist?

Other major and popular MLMs are:

• MajorDomo (PERL script)
• GNU MailMan (Python script)
• ListServ (whow, the original is IBM's RSCS based)

5. What is the benefit of `‘ezmlmx’'?

ezmlmx is written in 'C'. It takes advantage of (s/)qmail for sending/receiving emails from/to subscribers. Large email volumes can be delegated to subordinary MTAs using QMQ (Qmail Multiple Queues).

Subscription and unsubscription is based on a `‘cookie’' mechanism preventing fraud of email addresses while validing existing mailboxes.

Based on s/qmail message transmission is confidentially realized by TLS. Mailing List responses may be DKIM signed.

6. Why this fork of `‘ezmlm’'?

As a consultant and SW developer, I was responsible for Qmail and large volume ezmlm-idx mailing lists at the German broadcasting company WDR back in 200x.

ezmlm-idx is used for my users on `‘fehcom.de’' as well.

7. What is the future of `‘ezmlmx’'?

ezmlm-idx is now available in version 7.2.x. It provides a

• different language template engine, while
• coping better with internalization, and a
• more powerful database backend.

This is expected to be incorporated in forthcoming versions.

8. Further reading

Within the ./doc directory you will find:

• AUTHORS: The known contributers to this SW
• BLURB: The original BLURB of DJB
• CHANGELOG: The changes incorporated into ezmlmx
• FAQ.md: A modified FAQ from Fred Lindberg adjusted for ezmlmx
• LICENSE: The license file
• OLD/: Previous and outdated documents

ezmlmx web site is:

• http(s)://www.fehcom.de/ipnet/ezmlmx.html

9. Communication

An `ezmlmx mailing list will be provided to file bugs, whishes, and to annonounce news and information.

Please check ezmlmx's web site to inscribe.

Erwin Hoffmann, feh@f.nosp@m.ehco.nosp@m.m.de (April, 14th, 2025)