posted
I do the computer stuff for my synagogue. Other than the website, one of the things this entails is sending out a weekly bulletin to the members.
Right now, I paste an insanely long list of comma separated e-mail addresses into the BCC field of the e-mail. And that's lame.
My site is hosted on a Windows platform, but they have Php and MySQL installed. Are there any decent (preferably free) listserv-like packages out there that I could install simply by copying into a folder and setting up the database?
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posted
I mean, it would be a good question of I were me and not Xavier! Dammit, husband! Learn to sign off!
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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quote:Originally posted by rivka: Constant Contact is very popular, and seems to be pretty good.
Hmm... thanks, Rivka, but I'm looking for something that will support a discussion list as well; not just announcements.
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posted
I think the biggest and most important question is: does their host server support outbound SMTP, and do they have control over their DNS entries? Otherwise doing a server-side listserv is going to fail badly.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Tom, I can set up a "mailing list" on the domain that works sort of like the kind of list I want. I already use it for various small purposes. For example, my e-mail address and Havah's e-mail address have the same domain, just with "lisa" or "havah" as the username. So I set up havahlisa on that domain as well, and anything sent there goes to both of us.
The problem is, people should not be placed on that kind of list without having the ability to unsubscribe themselves. And this is basically just a redirect function.
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posted
I'm assuming that you're using a control panel app from your provider to do the existing forwarding?
In that case, I'd actually contact them and tell them what you're planning to do. They probably already have something server-side you can hook into.
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posted
I'm not dealing with the brightest bulbs here. Take a look at the correspondence I've had with my domain host so far. This is from the ticket that I put in:
quote:Lisa Liel
Posted On: 18 Jul 2009 10:45 PM
I would like to be able to run a few e-mail lists from my domain -----.com. I'm on a Windows server, and when I check the available web applications, there are no listserv-type applications there.
If I have a Windows compatible listserv application, can I have it installed on my site? In many cases, this involves actually having it installed on the server, and isn't something I can just copy to my webfolders.
Or is it possible to request such an application? What are the limitations on applications I can have run on my site? I see that there are no Java or ASP 1.1 apps available.
It comes with MSDE (Microsoft's free minimal database engine) and runs on Windows 2000/XP/2003 Standard Server. I don't actually know what OS you're using for your Windows hosting, but I assume it's one of those. There are other packages out there. Is there any way to request that such an application be made available on my hosted accounts?
Yes. Yes I am. I thought about using the list/autorespond functionality to make something like it, but there's no way for users to automatically unsubscribe if they want to.
The very first thing they say on their features page is "phplist is a one-way email announcement delivery system." I need more than a one-way e-mail system. I want to be able to set up a listserv. So that everyone on the list can send an e-mail to the list which will go out to everyone else on the list. You've heard of those, right? Like YahooGroups.
Well, in order for me to know if it'll even run, can you tell me what server my site is on? I mean, what the server is running? Is it Win2K? WinSvr2003? Also, if it includes a Windows service, can I send the install file to you and have you run it? Or is there a way I can run an executable on the host server?
Also, is there a way to request new apps that you will support? I'm sure I'm not the only one hosting domains on your service who would like to be able to do this. If I want to make such a request, where do I send it?
Currently we`re not adding any new applications. As we said, you can always try to run it manually, not from the applications button. Just upload the application and set it up.
Is there any way you could make it possible to run Mailman on the Windows hosting servers as well? It doesn't seem that it'd be significantly different.
Mailman isn't listed as a supported app for my account (which is on Windows). Also, I still don't know what kind of server my site is on, so I don't know what it will support.
Can you tell me what server my site is running on? Is it Windows 2000? Am I allowed to know?
There is a "mailing list" feature in Plesk, but there are two problems with it:
1) It doesn't provide any way for members to unsubscribe
2) It's currently not working. When I tried to add a list today, I got an error. See the attached screenshot.
I'm also unable to add users to the lists that already exist, and the three lists I've set up previously now appear to be empty. Which is a serious problem for me. I'm going to raise the priority on this ticket.
When I go to web applications, there is no such application as phpMyList. There is one called phpList, but as I said, that's a one-way application, and does not suit my needs.
In addition, all of the lists I've made in all of my domains have lost all of their members. When I try to add them back, I get an error. It is *imperative* that you fix this. I'm going to raise the priority on this again.
What I mean is that phpList allows you to send messages to many people easily. But it does not allow those many people to post back to the list and have their messages go to all list members. Do you know what kind of mail list I'm talking about? ListServ used to be the most well known one. Now YahooGroups probably are.
And please, will you tell me if the problem with my current distribution lists is being dealt with?
I'm attaching an executable that I'd like run on my hosted site. I don't know of any way to run it myself. Can you please install this for me on -----.com?
posted
The "Are you looking for some kind of mailing list?" almost made me choke. Or throw something.
I've read so many funny stories about dumb (l)users from tech support's POV (and lived some of them when I worked helpdesk at Saatchi & Saatchi for a few months), but sometimes it's the tech support people who are just bone stupid.
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