This document explains what List Types are and how to work with them. Learn how a List Type determines mailing list behavior, how to analyze List Type configuration, and how to manage and add new List Types. This document is aimed primarily at Super Admins because List Type tools are available only in the Super Admin Area, but it also covers issues that administrators and troubleshooters need to know in order to create, manage and troubleshoot mailing lists. It builds on technical information introduced in other Concepts documents including How Mailing Lists Work, Access Control and Mailing Lists and Ezmlm.

As described in Mailing Lists and Ezmlm, Kavi Mailing List Manager relies on ezmlm software for most basic mailing list management functionality, so ezmlm configuration options set in the ezmlm-make argument string determine the lion's share of mailing list features and behavior. A List Type is a preconfigured ezmlm template on which any number of mailing lists can be based, and all mailing lists based on a List Type implement the same features and rules about posting, email subscriptions and email archive retrieval commands. Additional options available at the list level are used to set details such as listname, define Web access and populate Subscriber Lists.

Each List Type is configured to support certain kinds of use. Kavi Mailing List Manager default List Types include two designed for one-way distribution of information from the organization to subscribers, such as the Newsletter List Type, which (amazingly enough) is designed to support newsletters, and the Announce Only List Type, which also only accepts posts from moderators. These two List Types are very similar, but the 'Newsletter' is designed to distribute informal announcements and is configured to support an organization's marketing and public outreach efforts, while the 'Announce Only' List Type is designed to support the publication of formal announcements to a select set of subscribers. The key difference between these List Types is that the 'Newsletter' is open to direct public subscription via ezmlm email commands, whereas the 'Announce Only' list is closed to subscriptions via email, so subscriptions can only be added through webpages. Since the subscription process has been forced into webpages, access can be as restricted as desired.

Other List Types are designed to support discussion forums. The Public Discussion default List Type accommodates public list users by accepting public posts and email subscription commands, but lists this open are so vulnerable to spam that this List Type is seldom used. List Types that either moderate public posts or reject them outright are more common, such as Moderated Public Discussion, which accepts public posts but sends them for moderation, or the private List Types such as Closed Private Discussion, which only accepts posts from subscribed addresses.

Certain aspects of List Type configuration are quite straightforward (e.g., the digest feature is enabled or it isn't), but other aspects, particularly those pertaining to access control, tend to be complex. Whether you are trying to determine the configuration of an existing List Type or create your own List Type, it's easiest to use the options presented through Kavi Mailing List Manager tools, rather than attempt to decipher the ezmlm-make argument string directly (although this exposed for use by ezmlm experts).

Whichever tool you use to view List Types, you'll see the same List Type configuration options (of course, the settings will vary). Read these options to get a quick grasp of List Type configuration. If you need more information on an option, you could refer to these sections of this document: Feature Options and Access Control Options. You'll probably understand most of the feature options immediately, but are likely to find that the access control options are more subtle to grasp.

Each option setting description includes the ezmlm-make arguments that pertain to that setting. This information is included for use by ezmlm experts, but the arguments are also useful for reference purposes, especially when you are dealing with a custom List Type rather than the default list types documented here. Some of these arguments are included in the documentation, particularly the -MOU arguments, which work in combination to control who can post to the list. If you want to look up an individual argument in the ezmlm-make argument string, see Ezmlm Quick Reference Guide, but if you want to understand -MOU combinations, you should see the Posting access matrix in the Posting Access Tables document.

Because access control is complex, there is a great deal of help available. So much so that you may find you have to navigate quite a bit to find the all information you need. You can follow links in the help documents, use the Search feature at the top of this page or click the Kavi Mailing List Manager link at the top of the page to see the Table of Contents. If you are new to the Kavi Mailing List Manager application and want to study the help documentation almost like a text book, the Introduction presents a recommended order in which the Concepts documents can be studied.