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Mailing Lists at the University of Birmingham List Owner's Guide Restricted Posting Lists

Most lists are set up so that anyone can post to them. However, it is sometimes desirable to restrict the ability to post to the a mailing list. The section on configuration file explains in detail how to set configuration options. If restrictions are in force and somebody tries to post a message to a restricted list, a BOUNCE message is generated and sent to the list owner with a copy of the message.

When using posting restrictions it is possible to unintentionally prevent people from posting to the list who should be able to. This can happen if the address in the list used does not match the exact address generated by the mailing software that they use. Such problems can normally be overcome by changing their address in the list. However, list owners should be aware of this potential complication before setting restrictions and decide whether on balance they really need them.

The normal restriction required wanted is that only members of a list should be able to post. This can be achieved by the restrict_post command, setting it to the name of the list. For example, if the list trees was to be set so that only members of the list could post to it, the following would be placed in the configuration file (there is an explanation of how to do this is in the configuration file section).

restrict_post = trees

Sometimes you may need to restrict posting to a different set of people from those on the list. For example you may wish to use a for making announcements and not for discussion, so only a few people would have access. It is possible to do this by setting the restrict_post option to another list. This must be a majordomo mailing list. This could be an existing list (it may be a departmental staff list who are allowed to post to a student list) or a special list set up for the purpose of controlling access. If a special list is set up, it is recommended that it is named after the list for which access is to be controlled, adding the characters -acl (to signify access control list). For example, for the list tress, a list called trees-acl would be set up and set as follows

restrict_post = trees-acl

The list for access control can be administered in the same way as any other majordomo list. If the list used is purely for access control, it should normally have who_access restricted and probably be set to noadvertise. These options are described in the section on configuration options.
Sometimes the members of the list and a list of others who are not members may need to post to a list. For example, it may be appropriate to allow departmental clerical support staff to be able to post to a list of senior members of a department in addition to the list members. This can be achieved by putting the name of more than one list in the restrict_post option. If you wanted people on the trees list and the trees-acl list to be able to post to trees, the following would be needed in the configuration file

restrict_post = trees trees-acl

Last Updated 05 November 1999. Please mail any comments to C.B.Bayliss@bham.ac.uk