Annotation of www/mail.html, Revision 1.159
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1.144 tb 18: <h2>
1.145 tb 19: <a href="index.html">
1.144 tb 20: <font color="#0000ff"><i>Open</i></font><font color="#000084">BSD</font></a>
21: <font color="#e00000">Mailing Lists</font>
22: </h2>
1.57 horacio 23: <hr>
1.144 tb 24: <p>
1.7 downsj 25:
1.66 nick 26: Mailing lists are an important means of communication among users and
1.139 tj 27: developers of OpenBSD.
28: With the exception of <b>announce</b>, the lists are not moderated.
29: We deliberately restrict the number of different mailing lists.
30: This helps reduce the amount of cross-posting and makes sure that
31: the information gets distributed to a wide audience.
32:
1.151 tb 33: <h2 id="Netiquette">Netiquette</h2>
1.66 nick 34:
1.28 louis 35: Be considerate of other subscribers on the mailing lists.
1.139 tj 36:
1.28 louis 37: <dl>
1.66 nick 38: <dt><b>Plain text, 72 characters per line</b>
39: <dd>Many subscribers and developers read their mail on text-based mailers
1.151 tb 40: like <a href="http://man.openbsd.org/mail">mail(1)</a>,
1.139 tj 41: emacs or mutt, and they often find HTML-formatted messages (or lines that
42: stretch beyond 72 characters) unreadable.
43: Most OpenBSD mailing lists strip messages of MIME content before sending
44: them out to the rest of the list.
45: If you don't use plain text, your messages will be reformatted or, if they
46: cannot be reformatted, summarily rejected.
47: The only mailing lists that allow file attachments are the <b>bugs</b>,
48: <b>ports</b> and <b>tech</b> lists.
49: They will be removed from messages on the others.
1.66 nick 50:
51: <dt><b>Do your homework before you post</b>
1.139 tj 52: <dd>If you have an installation question, make sure that you have read
1.146 tj 53: the relevant documents, such as the <tt>INSTALL.*</tt> text files in the
1.139 tj 54: installation directories, the <a href="faq/index.html">FAQ</a> and the
55: relevant man pages (start with
1.151 tb 56: <a href= "http://man.openbsd.org/afterboot">afterboot(8)</a>).
1.139 tj 57: Also check the mailing list <a href="#Archives">archives</a>.
1.66 nick 58: We want to help, but we wouldn't want to deprive you of a valuable
59: learning experience, and no one wants to see the same question on the
60: lists for the fifth time in a month.
61:
62: <dt><b>Include a useful Subject line</b>
1.45 millert 63: <dd>Messages with an empty Subject will get bounced to the list manager and
1.139 tj 64: will take longer to show up.
65: Including a relevant Subject in the message
1.45 millert 66: will ensure that more people actually read what you've written.
67: Also, avoid Subject lines with excessive capitalization.
1.96 jmc 68: "Help!" or "I can't get it to work!" are not useful subject lines.
1.139 tj 69: Do not change the subject line while on the same topic.
70: YOU may know what it is regarding, the rest of us who get several hundred
71: messages a day will have no idea.
1.66 nick 72:
73: <dt><b>Trim your signature</b>
74: <dd>Keep the signature lines at the bottom of your mail to a reasonable
1.139 tj 75: length.
76: PGP signatures and those automatic address cards are merely annoying and
77: are stripped out.
78: Legal disclaimers and advisories are also very annoying, and inappropriate
79: for public mailing lists.
1.66 nick 80:
81: <dt><b>Stay on topic</b>
1.28 louis 82: <dd>Please keep the subject of the post relevant to users of OpenBSD.
1.66 nick 83:
84: <dt><b>Include important information</b>
85: <dd>Don't waste everyone's time with a hopelessly incomplete question.
86: No one other than you has the information needed to resolve your
1.139 tj 87: problem, it is better to provide more information than needed than not
88: enough detail.
89: All questions should include at least the <a href="faq/faq5.html#Flavors">
90: version</a> of OpenBSD.
91: Any hardware-related questions should mention the platform (i386, amd64,
92: etc.) and provide a full
1.151 tb 93: <a href="http://man.openbsd.org/dmesg">dmesg(8)</a>.
1.66 nick 94: Hardware model numbers, unfortunately, don't indicate much about the
95: actual content of a particular machine or accessory, and are useless to
96: anyone who doesn't have that exact machine sitting where they can easily
1.139 tj 97: recognize it.
98: The dmesg(8) output tells us exactly what is IN your machine, not what
99: stickers are on the outside.
1.66 nick 100:
101: <dt><b>Respect differences in opinion and philosophy</b>
1.139 tj 102: <dd>Intelligent people may look at the same set of facts and come to very
103: different conclusions.
104: Repeating the same points that didn't convince someone previously rarely
105: changes their mind, and irritates all the other readers.
1.28 louis 106: </dl>
1.1 deraadt 107:
1.151 tb 108: <h2 id="spam">Spam</h2>
1.139 tj 109:
1.151 tb 110: The OpenBSD lists use <a href="http://man.openbsd.org/spamd">spamd(8)</a>
111: and <a href="http://www.spamassassin.org">SpamAssassin</a> to keep down the
112: spam volume, but things do sneak through from time to time -- deal with it.
1.139 tj 113: In addition, the list server also has regex-based rules to reject emails
1.87 millert 114: based on some common spam and virus telltales.
115: If you get spam through one of the OpenBSD mailing lists, you don't need to
1.139 tj 116: send a copy to the list owner -- chances are he's already seen it.
1.87 millert 117: Also, please do <b>not</b> submit spam received through the
1.139 tj 118: mailing lists to <a href="http://spamcop.net">spamcop</a>,
1.87 millert 119: as this will result in the list server being added to their RBL.
1.139 tj 120: Complaining about and commenting upon spam on the list proper is
121: counter-productive, as it generates more traffic than the spam itself.
122:
1.87 millert 123: <p>
1.139 tj 124: Note that if you are sending mail from a dynamic IP address, you
1.77 millert 125: will probably <b>not</b> be able to post to the mailing lists.
1.136 tb 126: In this case, you should use a <em>smart host</em> mail configuration
1.139 tj 127: that utilizes your ISP's mail server.
128: See the examples in
1.151 tb 129: <a href="http://man.openbsd.org/smtpd.conf">smtpd.conf(5)</a> for how
130: to do this.
1.66 nick 131:
1.151 tb 132: <h2 id="Lists">General interest lists</h2>
1.33 millert 133:
1.66 nick 134: These lists are of interest to most users of OpenBSD.
1.1 deraadt 135: <dl>
1.66 nick 136:
137: <dt><b>misc</b>
1.139 tj 138: <dd>User questions and answers, general questions.
139: This is the most active list.
140: Please, <a href="faq/index.html">read the FAQ</a> and the installation
141: documents, and see <a href="report.html">how to report a problem</a>
142: before posting.
1.66 nick 143:
144: <dt><b>advocacy</b>
1.139 tj 145: <dd>Promoting the use of OpenBSD.
1.66 nick 146:
147: <dt><b>announce</b>
1.139 tj 148: <dd>Important announcements.
149: This low volume list is excellent for people who just want occasional news
1.154 tj 150: about the project.
1.66 nick 151:
152: <dt><b>ports</b>
1.156 tj 153: <dd>Discussions about using and contributing to the ports tree.
1.66 nick 154:
1.127 tedu 155: </dl>
156:
1.151 tb 157: <h3>Developer lists</h3>
1.139 tj 158:
159: These lists are for technical discussions of aspects of OpenBSD.
160: They are NOT for beginning or average users, they are not for problem
161: reporting (unless you are including a good fix) and they are not for
162: installation problems.
163: If you have any question about if a message should be posted to any of
164: these lists, it probably should not.
165: Use <b>misc</b> instead.
1.66 nick 166:
167: <dl>
168: <dt><b>bugs</b>
1.57 horacio 169: <dd><a href="report.html">Bug reports</a> as sent in via
1.151 tb 170: <a href="http://man.openbsd.org/sendbug">sendbug(1)</a>
1.139 tj 171: and follow-up discussions.
1.66 nick 172:
173: <dt><b>tech</b>
174: <dd>Discussion of technical topics for OpenBSD developers and advanced
1.139 tj 175: users.
176: This is <b>not</b> a "tech support" forum; do not use it as such.
1.86 nick 177: OpenBSD developers will often make patches to implement new features
178: and other important changes available for public testing through this
179: list.
1.134 doug 180:
181: <dt><b>libressl</b>
182: <dd>Technical discussion about native and portable LibreSSL.
183: Users of LibreSSL on any operating system are welcome to participate.
184: Patches for the native LibreSSL should be sent to this list and use
185: OpenBSD's CVS tree or a git mirror of it.
186: Patches for the portable bits should be pull requests on
187: <a href="https://github.com/libressl-portable">github</a>.
188: </dl>
189:
1.151 tb 190: <h3>Security lists</h3>
1.139 tj 191:
1.134 doug 192: These private lists are for reporting vulnerabilities to the OpenBSD team.
193:
194: <dl>
195: <dt><b>libressl-security</b>
196: <dd>Report vulnerabilities related to OpenSSL or LibreSSL to the core
197: LibreSSL team.
1.151 tb 198: <dt><b>security</b>
199: <dd>Report vulnerabilities related to OpenBSD.
1.123 deraadt 200: </dl>
1.66 nick 201:
1.151 tb 202: <h3>Platform-specific lists</h3>
1.139 tj 203:
1.66 nick 204: These lists are focused on user issues and development on individual
205: platforms.
1.139 tj 206:
1.66 nick 207: <dl>
208: <dt><b>alpha</b>
209: <dd>OpenBSD/alpha port
210:
1.75 miod 211: <dt><b>arm</b>
1.155 tj 212: <dd>OpenBSD/armv7 port and other ARM porting efforts
1.75 miod 213:
1.66 nick 214: <dt><b>hppa</b>
215: <dd>OpenBSD/hppa port
216:
1.98 miod 217: <dt><b>m88k</b>
1.144 tb 218: <dd>OpenBSD/luna88k port
1.98 miod 219:
1.66 nick 220: <dt><b>ppc</b>
1.81 nick 221: <dd>OpenBSD/macppc and other PowerPC porting efforts
1.66 nick 222:
1.109 jsing 223: <dt><b>sgi</b>
224: <dd>OpenBSD/sgi port
225:
1.66 nick 226: <dt><b>sparc</b>
1.150 tj 227: <dd>OpenBSD/sparc64 port
1.66 nick 228: </dl>
229:
1.151 tb 230: <h3>CVS changes mailing lists</h3>
1.139 tj 231:
232: Every time a developer commits a change to the OpenBSD CVS tree, a message
233: is mailed out to all the subscribers of these lists, containing the commit
234: comments.
1.66 nick 235:
236: <dl>
237: <dt><b>source-changes</b>
1.139 tj 238: <dd>Automated mail of CVS source tree changes in the src, xenocara and www
239: repositories.
1.66 nick 240:
241: <dt><b>ports-changes</b>
1.139 tj 242: <dd>Automated mail of CVS source tree changes in the ports repository.
1.1 deraadt 243: </dl>
244:
1.151 tb 245: <h2 id="Mirrors">Mirror-related lists</h2>
1.139 tj 246:
1.116 sthen 247: Announcements and discussion relating to mirrors of OpenBSD.
248:
249: <dl>
250: <dt><b>mirrors-announce</b>
251: <dd>This is a moderated list used solely for important announcements
252: to operators of OpenBSD mirrors.
253:
254: <dt><b>mirrors-discuss</b>
255: <dd>Discussion relating to OpenBSD mirrors.
256: </dl>
257:
1.151 tb 258: <h2 id="Majordomo">Managing list membership via Majordomo</h2>
1.139 tj 259:
1.57 horacio 260: If you want to be sent a complete list with all mailing lists available
1.139 tj 261: at openbsd.org, send the command <tt>lists</tt> in the body of
1.57 horacio 262: a message to
263: <a href="mailto:majordomo@OpenBSD.org">majordomo@OpenBSD.org</a>.
1.28 louis 264:
265: <p>
1.66 nick 266: To subscribe to a given list, send mail to
267: <a href="mailto:majordomo@OpenBSD.org">majordomo@OpenBSD.org</a>
1.139 tj 268: with a message body of "subscribe <tt>mailing-list-name</tt>" (where
269: <tt>mailing-list-name</tt> is the name of your preferred list).
1.66 nick 270:
271: <p>
1.139 tj 272: For further assistance, send a message body of "help" to
273: <a href="mailto:majordomo@OpenBSD.org">majordomo@OpenBSD.org</a>
274: and you will receive a reply outlining all your options.
1.151 tb 275: Your domain <b>must</b> resolve properly or the mail will not go through!
1.1 deraadt 276:
1.151 tb 277: <h2 id="Web">Managing list membership via the web</h2>
1.66 nick 278:
279: Your membership to the OpenBSD mailing lists can also be managed via
1.139 tj 280: a web interface at <a href="https://lists.openbsd.org">lists.openbsd.org</a>.
1.66 nick 281:
1.151 tb 282: <h2 id="Tricks">Mailing list tricks</h2>
1.66 nick 283:
284: There are a number of very useful options that can be selected, either
1.139 tj 285: by the <a href="https://lists.openbsd.org">web interface</a> or through
286: <a href="mailto:majordomo@openbsd.org">Majordomo</a>.
287: You can change your email address without having to unsubscribe and
288: resubscribe, temporarily disable your message delivery for a few days
289: while you go on vacation and much more.
290: The user is invited to spend some time reading through the options, available
291: by sending <a href="mailto:majordomo@openbsd.org">Majordomo</a> a message
292: containing "help" as the body text, or through the "Help" tab of the
293: <a href="https://lists.openbsd.org">web interface</a>.
1.66 nick 294:
295: <p>
296: As an example, if you were going on vacation for two weeks and didn't
1.139 tj 297: wish to come back to several thousand emails, you can disable message
298: delivery by the mail server for the time of your vacation and have
1.70 nick 299: delivery automatically resume upon your scheduled return using the command:
1.139 tj 300:
301: <blockquote><pre>
302: set ALL nomail-14d
303: </pre></blockquote>
304:
1.141 tj 305: This will suspend your subscription to all mailing lists for 14 days
1.139 tj 306: (<tt>-14d</tt>).
307: More details and options can be seen on the
308: <a href="http://lists.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?&user=&passw=&list=GLOBAL&func=help&extra=overview">
309: Majordomo overview page</a>.
1.68 nick 310:
1.139 tj 311: <h3>Digests</h3>
1.66 nick 312:
313: If you would prefer to see a "digest" (a consolidated listing of all the
314: messages for a time period), rather than getting messages individually
315: in "real-time" form, you can use the commands:
1.139 tj 316:
317: <blockquote><pre>
318: set misc digest-daily
319: set source-changes digest-weekly
320: </pre></blockquote>
321:
1.66 nick 322: for daily digests of the <b>misc</b> list, and weekly digests of the
1.139 tj 323: <b>source-changes</b> list.
324: Yes, multiple commands can be placed in one Majordomo email.
1.66 nick 325:
1.151 tb 326: <h2 id="OtherLists">Other Mailing Lists</h2>
1.66 nick 327:
1.151 tb 328: The fine folks at <a href="http://www.squish.net/openbsd/">squish.net</a> run
329: mailing lists with daily and weekly digests of the OpenBSD <b>source-changes</b>
1.139 tj 330: and <b>ports-changes</b> mailing list.
1.151 tb 331: This is handy for those who don't like the typically high volume of these lists.
1.42 millert 332:
333: <p>
1.139 tj 334: The insomniac at <a href="http://www.benzedrine.ch/mailinglist.html">
335: benzedrine.ch</a> maintains the <b>pf</b> list for people using the
336: OpenBSD packet filter.
337: To subscribe, send an email with the message body of "subscribe" to
338: <a href="mailto:pf-request@benzedrine.ch">pf-request@benzedrine.ch</a>.
1.61 dhartmei 339:
1.151 tb 340: <h2 id="nonEnglish">Non-English lists</h2>
1.28 louis 341:
1.66 nick 342: Several non-English speaking mailing lists related to OpenBSD are available
1.139 tj 343: separately.
344: Here is a list of the currently known mailing lists:
1.59 miod 345:
346: <!--
347: PLEASE KEEP THIS LIST SORTED, EXCEPT FOR TRANSLATIONS, WHERE YOU SHOULD PUT
348: THE LIST IN YOUR LANGUAGE, IF ONE EXISTS, HEAD OF LIST.
349: -->
350:
351: <p>
1.114 syuu 352: Japanese:
1.139 tj 353: <b>openbsd-japan@googlegroups.com</b>
354: <br>To subscribe, visit the URL at:
1.114 syuu 355: <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/openbsd-japan">
356: http://groups.google.com/group/openbsd-japan</a>
357:
1.131 sthen 358: <p>
1.139 tj 359: Spanish:
360: <b>OpenBSD-Mexico@googlegroups.com</b>
1.59 miod 361: <br>To subscribe, visit the URL at:
1.91 grunk 362: <a href="http://groups.google.com.mx/group/OpenBSD-Mexico">
363: http://groups.google.com.mx/group/OpenBSD-Mexico</a>
1.49 horacio 364:
365: <p>
1.101 steven 366: Ukrainian:
367: <b>openbsd@uaoug.org.ua</b>
1.139 tj 368: <br>To subscribe, send an empty message to
1.101 steven 369: <a href="mailto:openbsd+subscribe@uaoug.org.ua">
370: openbsd+subscribe@uaoug.org.ua</a>
371:
1.151 tb 372: <h2 id="Archives">Mailing list archives</h2>
1.139 tj 373:
1.66 nick 374: These mailing list archives are not managed by the OpenBSD project.
375:
1.19 deraadt 376: <ul>
1.149 krw 377: <li>HTTP: <a href="https://marc.info">MARC</a>
378: <li>NNTP: <a href="nntp://news.gmane.org/">Gmane</a>
1.19 deraadt 379: </ul>
1.1 deraadt 380:
1.97 nick 381: <p>
1.139 tj 382: General search engines also prove very effective at finding answers to
383: OpenBSD questions.
1.97 nick 384:
1.103 reyk 385: <p>
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