SmartList 3.10

Section-Update: 28 Nov 94

Stephen R. van den Berg ("AKA BuGless"), who writes the (wonderful) Procmail local delivery agent for Unix, started writing a set of scripts for it a few years ago to automatically manage "-request" style mailing lists. Over time the package has grown to be one of the most sophisticated around, and in recent versions of Procmail was split off into a separate distribution, "SmartList."

Unusual features

SmartList stands alone: it does many nice and unique things, and it also does them in a unique way, with a unique user interface--specifically, from the user's perspective it looks more like a manually-maintained list (the kind with a human being at "listname-request"), than it does like the "machine at a server" model of most packages, as pioneered by LISTSERV. Given that model, SmartList is specifically designed to do what users expect without imposing any particular syntax on them. It neither imposes nor suggests a strict format on subscribe and unsubscribe messages, instead accepting all common formats including commands in the Subject line and most requests in "plain English." It also does fuzzy matching on addresses, which can be important in processing unsubscribe requests and bounces. You will probably find that you either love SmartList, or you hate it. Try it.

Features for users

Features for administrators

Administration of SmartList lists is easiest for users who have accounts on the server system. Limited administration can also be done by mail; however, commands are sent in the message header, instead of the body, which limits the MUA's a remote administrator can use (most PC packages are right out). SmartList offers the sysop these advantages: it imposes a low load on your system yet offers high performance in delivery, thus it is suited to run fairly large lists; it handles bounced mail better than any other package; and it probably already runs on your Unix system. One disadvantage, for some sites, is that users don't get a unified view of the lists on your server: each "-request" address stands alone.

Mailing lists and other information resources

Subscribe to Procmail@informatik.rwth-aachen.de and/or SmartList@informatik.rwth-aachen.de by writing a subscribe message to Procmail-request@informatik.rwth-aachen.de or SmartList-request@informatik.rwth-aachen.de, as appropriate.

System requirements

A Unix system with a C compiler is required, but past that, requirements are minimal: Procmail and SmartList compile out of the box on just about every Unix system known to man.

Cost and licensing

How to get it

To run SmartList, you also need Procmail. Get the sources for both at: ftp://ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/packages/Procmail/Procmail.tar.gz and ftp://ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/pub/packages/Procmail/SmartList.tar.gz (replace ".gz" with ".Z" if you don't have the GNU gzip package)