Mailman is a free software mailing list management package under the GNU license. It is designed to be installed on a Linux or Unix type server and interacts with common Linux Mail Transfer Agents (MTA) such as Postfix, qmail, and Sendmail.
Here are some for the features of Mailman:
- Web and Email administration features
- Subscribers can unsubscribe via the web interface or by email.
- “Real name” support for members
- Digest mode allows for summary post on busy lists.
- Regular expression based topic filtering
- Better membership management, including searching
- Re-organized administrative requests pages
- Moderated newsgroup support
- New moderation and privacy controls
- Invitations
External Links:
I have used Mailman for years and think it is a great way to run a mailing list. Any list that allows for user automated email features will have a steep learning curve and require some moderation, but the right tutorials and email footers will go a long way!
It is a bit difficult to get set up at first, but once it is going, it pretty much just manages itself. You are only required to moderate depending on the level of security and traffic on your list. The biggest hurdle is users who don’t read the basic instructions or have an understanding of simple emailing.