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Auxiliary Address Databases - ezmlm and ezmlm-idx Manual

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3.2 Using auxiliary address databases(*)

In addition to the regular subscriber address databases for the list and list-digest, ezmlm-idx may use up to three other address databases. One of these is the “allow” subscriber database which is housed in DIR/allow/ by default.

File names are shown like this. Directories end with a slash like this/. DIR/ is the list directory.

In case posts or access to the archive is restricted to subscribers, addresses present in the “allow” database are also accepted. If the subscriber ‘jonesj@softx.com’ sometimes posts from ‘john@example.net’, you can just add the second address to the “allow” database to permit this. The previous chapter describes how to do this via the “allow” command extension (see Adding Aliases). If you have shell access, you can simply run:

     % ezmlm-sub DIR allow john@example.net

To list all the addresses in the “allow” database:

     % ezmlm-list DIR allow

Before version 7, the above two commands would be typed as follows:

     % ezmlm-sub DIR/allow john@example.net
     % ezmlm-list DIR/allow

Similarly, you can use ezmlm-unsub(1) and ezmlm-list(1) to remove and list addresses, respectively.

Another address list is the “deny” database. If the list was configured with the ezmlm-make(1)-k’ switch or was created by version 7 or later, posts from addresses in this database are rejected. This protection is easy to circumvent, but very handy if a subscriber creates a mail loop (ezmlm/qmail has excellent loop detection, but some subscriber vacation programs generate a new message to the list for every message received and ezmlm has no way of knowing that this is not a legitimate post). For such a subscriber address, you can just temporarily add the sending address to the “deny” database, which is in some cases is preferable to simply unsubscribing the user. If this database is configured, remote administrators can access it via the “deny” command extension (see Blocking an Address).

The final database is the “mod” database in which moderator and remote administrator addresses are stored. Remote administrators may themselves (un)subscribe any address. Remote administration (see Remote Administration) is configured with the ezmlm-make(1)-r’ switch or the file DIR/remote file. The same addresses may also be subscription moderators. If configured (‘-s’ switch or DIR/modsub file) a user can subscribe only if one or more of the moderators approve. Messages to the list can also be moderated. This is configured with the ‘-m’ switch. Again, the moderators are stored in the “mod” database, although it is possible to configure the list so that message and subscription moderators are different sets of addresses (see More Information).

To add a moderator/administrator:

     ezmlm-sub DIR mod john@example.net

ezmlm-list(1) and ezmlm-unsub(1) are used to list and remove moderators. Normally, the moderator database cannot be accessed remotely. However, remote access can be arranged (see More Information).