Mailing lists are an important means of communication among users and
-developers of OpenBSD. With the exception of announce,
-the lists are not moderated. We deliberately
-restrict the number of different mailing lists.
-This helps reduce the amount of cross-posting and makes sure that the
-information gets distributed to a wide audience.
+developers of OpenBSD.
+With the exception of announce, the lists are not moderated.
+We deliberately restrict the number of different mailing lists.
+This helps reduce the amount of cross-posting and makes sure that
+the information gets distributed to a wide audience.
-
-
-
Netiquette
-
+
Netiquette
+
Be considerate of other subscribers on the mailing lists.
+
Plain text, 72 characters per line
Many subscribers and developers read their mail on text-based mailers
-(mail(1), emacs, Mutt)
-and they find HTML-formatted messages, or lines that stretch beyond 72
-characters often unreadable.
-Most OpenBSD mailing lists strip messages of MIME content before
-sending them out to the rest of the list.
-If you don't use plain text your messages will be reformatted or,
-if they cannot be reformatted, summarily rejected.
-The only mailing list that allows attachments is the ports list,
-they will be removed from messages on the other mailing lists.
+like mail(1),
+emacs or mutt, and they often find HTML-formatted messages (or lines that
+stretch beyond 72 characters) unreadable.
+Most OpenBSD mailing lists strip messages of MIME content before sending
+them out to the rest of the list.
+If you don't use plain text, your messages will be reformatted or, if they
+cannot be reformatted, summarily rejected.
+The only mailing lists that allow file attachments are the bugs,
+ports and tech lists.
+They will be removed from messages on the others.
Do your homework before you post
-
If you have an installation question, make sure that you have read the relevant
-documents such as the INSTALL.* text files in the FTP installation directories, the
-FAQ and the relevant man pages (start with
-afterboot(8)),
-and check the mailing list archives.
+
If you have an installation question, make sure that you have read
+the relevant documents, such as the INSTALLi.* text files in the
+installation directories, the FAQ and the
+relevant man pages (start with
+
+afterboot(8)).
+Also check the mailing list archives.
We want to help, but we wouldn't want to deprive you of a valuable
learning experience, and no one wants to see the same question on the
lists for the fifth time in a month.
Include a useful Subject line
Messages with an empty Subject will get bounced to the list manager and
-so they will take longer to show up. Including a relevant Subject in the message
+will take longer to show up.
+Including a relevant Subject in the message
will ensure that more people actually read what you've written.
Also, avoid Subject lines with excessive capitalization.
"Help!" or "I can't get it to work!" are not useful subject lines.
-Do not change the subject line while on the same topic. YOU may know
-what it is regarding, the rest of us who get several hundred messages a
-day will have no idea.
+Do not change the subject line while on the same topic.
+YOU may know what it is regarding, the rest of us who get several hundred
+messages a day will have no idea.
Trim your signature
Keep the signature lines at the bottom of your mail to a reasonable
-length. PGP signatures, and those automatic address cards are merely
-annoying and are stripped out. Legal disclaimers and advisories are
-very annoying, and inappropriate to public mailing lists.
+length.
+PGP signatures and those automatic address cards are merely annoying and
+are stripped out.
+Legal disclaimers and advisories are also very annoying, and inappropriate
+for public mailing lists.
Stay on topic
Please keep the subject of the post relevant to users of OpenBSD.
@@ -72,81 +79,83 @@
Include important information
Don't waste everyone's time with a hopelessly incomplete question.
No one other than you has the information needed to resolve your
-problem, it is better to provide more information than needed than one
-detail too little. Any question should include at least the
-version of OpenBSD (i.e.,
-"3.2-stable", "3.3-current as of July 20, 2003"). Any hardware related
-questions should mention the platform (i.e., sparc,
-alpha, etc.), and provide a full
-dmesg(8).
+problem, it is better to provide more information than needed than not
+enough detail.
+All questions should include at least the
+version of OpenBSD.
+Any hardware-related questions should mention the platform (i386, amd64,
+etc.) and provide a full
+dmesg(8).
Hardware model numbers, unfortunately, don't indicate much about the
actual content of a particular machine or accessory, and are useless to
anyone who doesn't have that exact machine sitting where they can easily
-recognize it. The dmesg(8) tells us exactly what is IN your machine,
-not what stickers are on the outside.
+recognize it.
+The dmesg(8) output tells us exactly what is IN your machine, not what
+stickers are on the outside.
Respect differences in opinion and philosophy
-
Intelligent people may look at the same set of facts and come to
-very different conclusions. Repeating the same points that didn't
-convince someone previously rarely changes their mind and irritates all
-the other readers.
+
Intelligent people may look at the same set of facts and come to very
+different conclusions.
+Repeating the same points that didn't convince someone previously rarely
+changes their mind, and irritates all the other readers.
Do not cross-post or repeat post
Posting the same message to multiple lists and/or multiple times
-does not increase the likelihood of getting a useful response, but is
-likely to irritate the people you want to help you. If you didn't get a
-satisfactory response the first time you posted to an appropriate list,
-it is usually because you provided insufficient or unclear information.
+does not increase the likelihood of getting a useful response, and is
+likely to irritate the people you want to help you.
+If you didn't get a satisfactory response the first time you posted to an
+appropriate list, it is usually because you provided insufficient or unclear
+information.
Don't simply repost the same message.
-
-
-
Spam
-
+
Spam
+
The OpenBSD mailing lists use
-spamd(8) in greylisting mode as well as
-SpamAssassin to keep down the
-spam volume but things do sneak through--deal with it.
-In addition, the list server also has regex-based rules to reject
+spamd(8)
+in greylisting mode as well as
+SpamAssassin to keep down the spam volume, but things do sneak through
+from time to time -- deal with it.
+In addition, the list server also has regex-based rules to reject emails
based on some common spam and virus telltales.
If you get spam through one of the OpenBSD mailing lists, you don't need to
-send a copy to the list owner--chances are he's already seen it.
+send a copy to the list owner -- chances are he's already seen it.
Also, please do not submit spam received through the
-mailing lists to spamcop
+mailing lists to spamcop,
as this will result in the list server being added to their RBL.
-Complaining about and commenting upon spam on the list proper
-is counter-productive as it generates more traffic than the spam itself.
+Complaining about and commenting upon spam on the list proper is
+counter-productive, as it generates more traffic than the spam itself.
+
-Note that if you are sending mail from a dynamic IP address you
+Note that if you are sending mail from a dynamic IP address, you
will probably not be able to post to the mailing lists.
In this case, you should use a smart host mail configuration
-that utilizes your ISP's mail server. See the examples in
+that utilizes your ISP's mail server.
+See the examples in
smtpd.conf(5) for how to do this.
+
The Mailing Lists
-
-
The Mailing Lists
-
General Interest Lists
These lists are of interest to most users of OpenBSD.
misc
-
User questions and answers, general questions. This is the most
-active list. Please, read the FAQ and the
-installation documents, and see How to report a
-Problem before posting.
+
User questions and answers, general questions.
+This is the most active list.
+Please, read the FAQ and the installation
+documents, and see how to report a problem
+before posting.
advocacy
-
Promoting the use of OpenBSD. Non-technical discussions in
-misc often get shunted here.
+
Promoting the use of OpenBSD.
announce
-
Important announcements. This low volume list is excellent for
-people who just want occasional news about the project.
+
Important announcements.
+This low volume list is excellent for people who just want occasional news
+about the project and errata patch notices.
ports
Discussions about using and contributing to the 'ports' source tree.
@@ -154,24 +163,26 @@
Developer's Lists
-These lists are for technical discussions of aspects of OpenBSD. They
-are NOT for beginning or average users, they are not for problem
-reporting (unless you are including a good fix), and they are not for
-installation problems. If you have any question about if a message
-should be posted to any of these lists, almost invariably, it should not
-be. Use misc, above, instead. Please do not cross post
-to multiple lists.
+These lists are for technical discussions of aspects of OpenBSD.
+They are NOT for beginning or average users, they are not for problem
+reporting (unless you are including a good fix) and they are not for
+installation problems.
+If you have any question about if a message should be posted to any of
+these lists, it probably should not.
+Use misc instead.
+Again, do not cross post to multiple lists.
+
Discussion of technical topics for OpenBSD developers and advanced
-users. This is not a "tech support" forum, do not use it as
-such.
+users.
+This is not a "tech support" forum; do not use it as such.
OpenBSD developers will often make patches to implement new features
and other important changes available for public testing through this
list.
@@ -186,6 +197,7 @@
Security Lists
+
These private lists are for reporting vulnerabilities to the OpenBSD team.
@@ -194,9 +206,11 @@
LibreSSL team.
-
Platform Specific Lists
+
Platform-specific Lists
+
These lists are focused on user issues and development on individual
platforms.
+
alpha
OpenBSD/alpha port
@@ -224,21 +238,22 @@
CVS Changes Mailing Lists
-Every time a developer commits a change to the OpenBSD
-CVS tree, a message is mailed out to all the subscribers
-of these lists, containing the commit comments.
+Every time a developer commits a change to the OpenBSD CVS tree, a message
+is mailed out to all the subscribers of these lists, containing the commit
+comments.
+
source-changes
-
Automated mail-out of CVS source tree changes in all the repositories
-other than ports.
+
Automated mail of CVS source tree changes in the src, xenocara and www
+repositories.
ports-changes
-
Automated mail-out of ports-specific CVS source tree changes.
+
Automated mail of CVS source tree changes in the ports repository.
-
-
Mirror-related Mailing Lists
+
Mirror-related Mailing Lists
+
Announcements and discussion relating to mirrors of OpenBSD.
@@ -250,99 +265,99 @@
Discussion relating to OpenBSD mirrors.
-
-
Managing Mailing List Membership via
-Majordomo
-
+
Managing Mailing List
+Membership via Majordomo
+
If you want to be sent a complete list with all mailing lists available
-at openbsd.org, send the command "lists" on the body of
+at openbsd.org, send the command lists in the body of
a message to
majordomo@OpenBSD.org.
To subscribe to a given list, send mail to
majordomo@OpenBSD.org
-with a message body of "subscribe mailing-list-name".
+with a message body of "subscribe mailing-list-name" (where
+mailing-list-name is the name of your preferred list).
-For further assistance, send a message body of "help"
-to majordomo@OpenBSD.org
-and you will receive a reply outlining all your options. Your domain
-MUST resolve properly or the mail will not go through!
+For further assistance, send a message body of "help" to
+majordomo@OpenBSD.org
+and you will receive a reply outlining all your options.
+Your domain MUST resolve properly or the mail will not go through!
+
Managing Mailing List Membership
+via Web
-
-
Managing Mailing List Membership via
-Web
Your membership to the OpenBSD mailing lists can also be managed via
-a web interface at:
-
There are a number of very useful options that can be selected, either
-by the web interface or through
-Majordomo. You can change
-your email address without having to unsubscribe and resubscribe, you
-can temporarily disable your message delivery for a few days while you go on
-vacation, and much more. The user is invited to spend some time reading
-through the options, available by sending
-Majordomo a message
-containing "help" as the body text, or through the
-"Help" tab of the web
-interface.
+by the web interface or through
+Majordomo.
+You can change your email address without having to unsubscribe and
+resubscribe, temporarily disable your message delivery for a few days
+while you go on vacation and much more.
+The user is invited to spend some time reading through the options, available
+by sending Majordomo a message
+containing "help" as the body text, or through the "Help" tab of the
+web interface.
As an example, if you were going on vacation for two weeks and didn't
-wish to come back to several thousand e-mails, you can disable
-message delivery by the mail server for the time of your vacation and have
+wish to come back to several thousand emails, you can disable message
+delivery by the mail server for the time of your vacation and have
delivery automatically resume upon your scheduled return using the command:
-
- set ALL nomail-14d
-
-This will suspend your subscription to all mail lists for 14 days
-(-14d). More details and options can be seen on the
-Majordomo
-overview page.
+
+set ALL nomail-14d
+
+This will suspend your subscription to all mail lists for 14 days
+(-14d).
+More details and options can be seen on the
+
+Majordomo overview page.
+
Digests
+
If you would prefer to see a "digest" (a consolidated listing of all the
messages for a time period), rather than getting messages individually
in "real-time" form, you can use the commands:
-
- set misc digest-daily
- set source-changes digest-weekly
-
+
for daily digests of the misc list, and weekly digests of the
-source-changes list. Yes, multiple commands can be placed in one
-Majordomo email.
+source-changes list.
+Yes, multiple commands can be placed in one Majordomo email.
+
Other Mailing
+Lists
-
-
Other Mailing Lists
-
The fine folks at
squish.net run mailing
lists with daily and weekly digests of the OpenBSD source-changes
-and ports-changes mailing list. This is handy for those who
-don't like the typically high volume of these lists.
+and ports-changes mailing list.
+This is handy for those who don't like the typically high volume of these
+lists.
-The insomniac at benzedrine.ch
-maintains the pf list for people using the OpenBSD
-packet filter. To subscribe:
-
-echo subscribe | mail pf-request@benzedrine.ch
+The insomniac at
+benzedrine.ch maintains the pf list for people using the
+OpenBSD packet filter.
+To subscribe, send an email with the message body of "subscribe" to
+pf-request@benzedrine.ch.
-
-
Non-English Lists
+
Non-English
+Lists
Several non-English speaking mailing lists related to OpenBSD are available
-separately. Here is a list of the currently known mailing lists:
+separately.
+Here is a list of the currently known mailing lists:
Spanish:
-OpenBSD-Mexico@googlegroups.com, run from Mexico.
- To subscribe, please visit
+OpenBSD-Mexico@googlegroups.com
+ To subscribe, visit the URL at:
http://groups.google.com.mx/group/OpenBSD-Mexico
Ukrainian:
openbsd@uaoug.org.ua
- To subscribe, send mail to
+ To subscribe, send an empty message to
openbsd+subscribe@uaoug.org.ua
-
-
-
Mailing List Archives:
+
Mailing List
+Archives:
+
These mailing list archives are not managed by the OpenBSD project.
Take the time to look at more than one -- each is a little different,
-and has different search abilities. If you don't find an answer in
-one, check another.
+and has different search abilities.
+If you don't find an answer in one, check another.
-General search engines, such as
-Google also prove very effective at
-finding answers to OpenBSD questions.
+General search engines also prove very effective at finding answers to
+OpenBSD questions.
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