- Scale. Simplelist is designed to handle about 100 mailing lists per server, with an average number of 100 members per mailing list, and an average of 10 messages per mailing list per day. There are no hard limits, but this scale is suggested to give you an idea of our "design center" which drives our simplicity etc.
- Hosting. Simplelist is developed and tested on Red Hat Linux, Apache, MySQL, and sendmail. It will come with an install package and config file and Makefile so you can install simplelist on your own Linux server, using fairly standard Linux conventions. It will likely work in other environments, although we don't test them. You can then configure simplelist on your server to be used for any domain name you host on your server. E.g., you might have one linux server which hosts both catclub.org and dogclub.org with mailing lists such as owners@catclub.org, doctors@catclub.org, owners@dogclub.org, doctors@dogclub.org, etc.
- Web-based user management including request to subscribe (may need approval by list owner) or unsubscribe, and notify options of as-it-happens, daily digest, or weekly digist.
- Web-based list management: request the creation of a new list@domain.com (must be approved by the simplelist manager for domain.com), with the ability to add new members (only by hand, not via import). List owners must first confirm their email address and then each invite must be confirmed by the new member. (And only up to 10 open invites at a time will be sent.)
- Web archives available so list members can browse or search the archives for that list. (Some list admins might make their lists public, in which case anyone can browse or search those lists.) Email addresses are masked. Our solution will be simpler than MHonArc, for example. (See our books mockup.)
- Authentication. Only list members can post to the list, and they are allowed to post only up to 10 messages a day to the list, although this number is configurable.
- Simplelist signature appended with list info and one-click unsubscribe, e.g.,
- Sent for books@f7.net (unsubscribe) via simplelist.
- Standard mail headers are used, including:
- From is set to the actual sender, e.g., From: John Smith <john@example.org>
- To is set to the email address of the list, e.g., To: books@f7.net.
- Precedence is set to Bulk by default, although a server or list manager can remove this option.
- Member forms for subscribe and unsubscribe (example). These will send an email with a coded confirmation URL, to make sure bad guys do not change someone else's subscription status. Note that "V1" might not have these forms, but could instead require users to click the unsubscribe at the bottom of an email, or to email the list admin.
- Admin form to create, modify or delete a mailing list. Properties include the list email address (books@f7.net), the list info URL (http://books.f7.net), the member list, and the admin email address. List creation will require an approval from the server admin, so strangers don't use your server without permission. Note that "V1" will not have this UI, but will instead require a list admin to edit some data files and/or run a script.
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