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<p>
<h1><font color="#e00000">Mailing Lists</font></h1>
<hr>
Mailing lists are an important means of communication among users and
developers of OpenBSD. With the exceptions of <b>announce</b> and
<b>security-anounce</b>, 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.
<p>
<a name="Netiquette"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Netiquette</font></h2>
<p>
Be considerate of other subscribers on the mailing lists.
<dl>
<dt><b>Plain text, 72 characters per line</b>
<dd>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 <b>ports</b> list,
they will be removed from messages on the other mailing lists.
<dt><b>Do your homework before you post</b>
<dd>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
<a href="faq/index.html">FAQ</a> and the relevant man pages (start with
<a href= "http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=afterboot&sektion=8">afterboot(8)</a>),
and check the mailing list <a href="#Archives">archives</a>.
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.
<dt><b>Include a useful Subject line</b>
<dd>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 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 a 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.
<dt><b>Trim your signature</b>
<dd>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.
<dt><b>Stay on topic</b>
<dd>Please keep the subject of the post relevant to users of OpenBSD.
<dt><b>Include important information</b>
<dd>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
<a href="faq/faq5.html#Flavors">version</a> 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
<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=dmesg&sektion=8">dmesg(8)</a>).
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.
<dt><b>Respect differences in opinion and philosophy</b>
<dd>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.
<dt><b>Do not cross-post or repeat post</b>
<dd>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.
Don't simply repost the same message.
</dl>
<p>
<a name="spam"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Spam</font></h2>
<p>
The OpenBSD mailing lists use
<a href="http://www.spamassassin.org">SpamAssassin</a> to keep down the
spam volume but sometimes things sneak through.
In addition, the list server also has regex-based rules to reject
based on some common spam telltales.
If you get spam through one of the OpenBSD mailing lists,
you might want to submit it to <a href="http://spamcop.net">spamcop</a>.
In general, you don't have to send a copy to the list owner--chances
are he's already seen it. Please note that complaining about
and commenting upon
spam on the list proper is counter-productive as it generates more
traffic than the spam itself.
<a name="Lists"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">The Mailing Lists</font></h2>
<h3>General Interest Lists</h3>
These lists are of interest to most users of OpenBSD.
<dl>
<dt><b>misc</b>
<dd>User questions and answers, general questions. This is the most
active list. Please, <a href="faq/index.html">read the FAQ</a> and the
installation documents, and see <a href="report.html">How to report a
Problem</a> before posting.
<dt><b>advocacy</b>
<dd>Promoting the use of OpenBSD. Non-technical discussions in
<i>misc</i> often get shunted here.
<dt><b>announce</b>
<dd>Important announcements. This low volume list is excellent for
people who just want occasional news about the project.
<dt><b>security-announce</b>
<dd>Security announcements. This low volume list receives OpenBSD
security advisories and pointers to security patches as they become
available.
<dt><b>ports</b>
<dd>Discussions about using and contributing to the 'ports' source tree.
<dt><b>www</b>
<dd>Discussion of the OpenBSD Website.</dd>
</dl>
<h3>Developer's Lists</h3>
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 <b>misc</b>, above, instead. <b>Please</b> do not cross post
to multiple lists.
<dl>
<dt><b>bugs</b>
<dd><a href="report.html">Bug reports</a> as sent in via
<a href="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.cgi?query=sendbug&sektion=1">sendbug(1)</a>
and follow-up discussions. If you wish to have your message logged
by the <a href="query-pr.html">GNATS</a> bug tracking system, reply
to <i>gnats@openbsd.org</i>, gnats@ will then forward to <i>bugs@</i>.
<dt><b>ipv6</b>
<dd>Discussion of IPv6 and IPsec in OpenBSD
<dt><b>ports-bugs</b>
<dd>Discussion regarding bugs within the OpenBSD ports tree
<dt><b>smp</b>
<dd>Development of <a href="faq/faq8.html#SMP">multiprocessor</a>
support in OpenBSD. Offers to "help test" and complaints about it not
being completed yet are not appreciated. Code, however, is welcome.
<dt><b>tech</b>
<dd>Discussion of technical topics for OpenBSD developers and advanced
users. This is <b>not</b> a "tech support" forum, do not use it as
such.
<dt><b>x11</b>
<dd>Discussion of X11 development within OpenBSD
</dl>
<h3>Platform Specific Lists</h3>
These lists are focused on user issues and development on individual
platforms.
<dl>
<dt><b>alpha</b>
<dd>OpenBSD/alpha port
<dt><b>hppa</b>
<dd>OpenBSD/hppa port
<dt><b>mac68k</b>
<dd>OpenBSD/mac68k port (not PowerPC Macintosh systems)
<dt><b>ppc</b>
<dd>OpenBSD/macppc port and other PowerPC porting efforts
<dt><b>sparc</b>
<dd>OpenBSD/sparc and OpenBSD/sparc64 ports
<dt><b>vax</b>
<dd>OpenBSD/vax port
</dl>
<h3>CVS Changes Mailing Lists</h3>
Every time a developer commits a change to the OpenBSD
<a href="why-cvs.html">CVS tree</a>, a message is mailed out to all the subscribers
of these lists, containing the commit comments.
<dl>
<dt><b>source-changes</b>
<dd>Automated mail-out of CVS source tree changes in all the repositories
other than <i>ports</i>.
<dt><b>ports-changes</b>
<dd>Automated mail-out of ports-specific CVS source tree changes.
</dl>
<h3>CTM Lists</h3>
A number of mailing lists are used by the <a href="ctm.html">CTM</a>,
an alternative source change distribution system. See the
<a href="ctm.html">CTM page</a> for details.
<a name="Majordomo"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Managing Mailing List Membership via
Majordomo</font></h2>
<p>
If you want to be sent a complete list with all mailing lists available
at openbsd.org, send the command "<tt>lists</tt>" on the body of
a message to
<a href="mailto:majordomo@OpenBSD.org">majordomo@OpenBSD.org</a>.
<p>
To subscribe to a given list, send mail to
<a href="mailto:majordomo@OpenBSD.org">majordomo@OpenBSD.org</a>
with a message body of "<b>subscribe mailing-list-name</b>".
<p>
For further assistance, send a message body of "<b>help</b>"
to <a href="mailto:majordomo@OpenBSD.org">majordomo@OpenBSD.org</a>
and you will receive a reply outlining all your options. Your domain
<b>MUST</b> resolve properly or the mail will not go through!
<a name="Web"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Managing Mailing List Membership via
Web</font></h2>
Your membership to the OpenBSD mailing lists can also be managed via
a web interface at:
<blockquote>
<a href="http://lists.openbsd.org/">http://lists.openbsd.org/</a>
</blockquote>
<a name="Tricks"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Mailing Lists Tricks</font></h2>
There are a number of very useful options that can be selected, either
by the <a href="http://lists.openbsd.org">web interface</a> or through
<a href="mailto:majordomo@openbsd.org">Majordomo</a>. 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
<a href="mailto:majordomo@openbsd.org">Majordomo</a> a message
containing "<tt>help</tt>" as the body text, or through the
"<tt>Help</tt>" tab of the <a href="http://lists.openbsd.org">web
interface</a>.
<p>
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 from the mail server for the time of your vacation and have
delivery automaticly resume upon your scheduled return using the command:
<pre>
set all nomail-14d
</pre>
This will suspend your subscription to all mail lists for 14 days
(<tt>-14d</tt>). More details and options can be seen on the
<a href="http://lists.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/mj_wwwusr?&user=&passw=&list=GLOBAL&func=help&extra=overview">Majordomo
overview page</a>.
<h3>Digests</h3>
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:
<pre>
set misc digest-daily
set source-changes digest-weekly
</pre>
for daily digests of the <b>misc</b> list, and weekly digests of the
<b>source-changes</b> list. Yes, multiple commands can be placed in one
Majordomo email.
<a name="OtherLists"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Other Mailing Lists</font></h2>
<p>
The fine folks at
<a href="http://www.squish.net/openbsd/">squish.net</a> run mailing
lists with daily and weekly digests of the OpenBSD <b>source-changes</b>
and <b>ports-changes</b> mailing list. This is handy for those who
don't like the typically high volume of that list.
<p>
The clever monkeys at <a href="http://www.monkey.org/openbsd-mobile/">monkey.org</a>
maintain the <b>openbsd-mobile</b> list for people using OpenBSD
on mobile and laptop computers. To subscribe:
<br>
echo subscribe | mail openbsd-mobile-request@monkey.org
<p>
The insomniac at <a href="http://www.benzedrine.cx/pf/">benzedrine.cx</a>
maintains the <b>pf</b> list for people using the OpenBSD
packet filter. To subscribe:
<br>
echo subscribe | mail pf-request@benzedrine.cx
<p>
A mailing list for OpenBSD FTP, Web, AnonCVS and CVSup mirror maintainers is
available at <a href="http://rt.fm/openbsd-mirrors/">rt.fm</a>.
<a name="nonEnglish"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Non-English Lists</font></h2>
Several non-English speaking mailing lists related to OpenBSD are available
separately. Here is a list of the currently known mailing lists:
<!--
PLEASE KEEP THIS LIST SORTED, EXCEPT FOR TRANSLATIONS, WHERE YOU SHOULD PUT
THE LIST IN YOUR LANGUAGE, IF ONE EXISTS, HEAD OF LIST.
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<!--
<p>
Chinese:
<b>openbsd@shellhung.org</b>
<br>To subscribe, visit the URL at:
<a href="http://www.shellhung.org/mailman/listinfo/openbsd/">http://www.shellhung.org/mailman/listinfo/openbsd/</a>.
-->
<p>
Czech:
<b>users@openbsd.cz</b>
<br>To subscribe, visit the URL at:
<a href="http://openbsd.cz/mailman/listinfo/users/">http://openbsd.cz/mailman/listinfo/users/</a>.
<p>
German:
<b>liste@openbsd.de</b>
<br>To subscribe, please visit the URL at:
<a href="https://www.openbsd.de/listen/listinfo/liste">https://www.openbsd.de/listen/listinfo/liste</a>.
<p>
Greek:
<b>openbsd@bsd.gr</b>
<br>To subscribe send a mail to
<a href="mailto:majordomo@bsd.gr">majordomo@bsd.gr</a> with a message
body of "<b>subscribe openbsd</b>".
<p>
Italian:
<a href="http://www.sikurezza.org/">sikurezza.org</a>, an Italian language
non-commercial security portal hosts <b>openbsd@sikurezza.org</b>.
<br>To subscribe just send an empty message to <a
href="mailto:openbsd-subscribe@sikurezza.org">openbsd-subscribe@sikurezza.org</a>.
<p>
Japanese: Please visit the URL at:
<a href="http://www.openbsd.ics.nara-wu.ac.jp/wakakusa">http://www.openbsd.ics.nara-wu.ac.jp/wakakus</a>
for more information.
<p>
Polish: to subscribe, send mail to
<a href="mailto:OpenBSD-request@bsdzine.org">OpenBSD-request@bsdzine.org</a>.
<p>
Portuguese:
<b>openbsd@neei.uevora.pt</b>
<br>To subscribe, visit the URL at:
<a href="http://neei.uevora.pt/mailman/listinfo/openbsd/">http://neei.uevora.pt/mailman/listinfo/openbsd/</a>.
<p>
Russian:
<b>openbsd@openbsd.ru</b>
<br>To subscribe, send mail to
<a href="mailto:minimalist@openbsd.ru">minimalist@openbsd.ru</a> with
subject "<b>subscribe openbsd</b>".
<p>
Spanish:
<b>misc@openbsd.org.mx</b>, run from Mexico.
<br>To subscribe, send an empty mail to
<a href="mailto:misc-subscribe@openbsd.org.mx">misc-subscribe@openbsd.org.mx</a>.
<p>
<a name="Archives"></a>
<h2><font color="#e00000">Mailing List Archives:</font></h2>
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.
<p>
General search engines, such as
<a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> also prove very effective at
finding answers to OpenBSD questions.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.sigmasoft.com/~openbsd/">USA</a>
<!-- seemingly not working any longer
<li><a href="http://www.geocrawler.com/lists/4/OpenBSD">Geocrawler Archive</a>
-->
<li><a href="http://www.monkey.org/openbsd/">The primates at monkey.org</a>
<li><a href="http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/">MARC</a>
<li><a href="http://bsdsearch.com/eao/phorum/index.php?f=2">BSDSearch.com</a>
<li><a href="http://www.netsys.com/archives.html">@netsys.com</a>
<li>Neohapsis has a
<a href="http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/openbsd/">mixed archive
for tech@, misc@ and ports@</a> and a
<a href="http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/openbsd/cvs/">mixed
archive for CVS commits</a>
</ul>
<hr>
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<a href="mailto:www@openbsd.org">www@openbsd.org</a>
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