How to use Dada Mail > Discussion Lists

Send list messages from your mailbox
After setting up a new list, if you want to send mail to your subscribers from your email composer (such as Outlook or Hotmail, follow these steps:

1. Create a POP3 mailbox for it. In other words, in cPanel, go to "Email Accounts" and set up a new mailbox using the same name as the Short Name of your list. (What's a "short name"? See How to use Dada Mail > Change List Information.) Dada Mail will access this POP3 email account to check it for new messages and, after validating the message, to send it off to your subscribers.
     
2. In the list's control panel, under "Plug-ins" click the "Discussion Lists" link. Use the form that asks for the POP3 email address, server, username and password.
   

   POP3 server: mail.yourdomain.org
   POP3 username: listname@yourdomain.org
   POP3 password: • • • • • • •

   Make sure to test your POP3 login information.

3. Set up a cron job to check for mail in this box every minute. To do this, in cPanel, in the Advanced grouping, choose the "Cron jobs" icon. Use either the "Standard" view or "Advanced (Unix Style)". Our example below shows how to use the Advanced view.

   

   Put an asterisk * in each box on timing. In the Command line, paste the following (substituting your domain's username where it's red). Note: There is a blank space between perl and /home.

   /usr/bin/perl /home/username/public_html/cgi-bin/dada/plugins/dada_bridge.pl >/dev/null 2>&1

Authorize others to send list messages from their mailboxes
If you belong to an organization that has a officers or managers or other select people who need to send messages to the list, you can add their email addresses to the Moderator list. This will allow them (and only them -- plus you) to send messages. Note: If this address is not in the subscriber list also, the sender will not get a copy of what they sent out.

Here's how to set this up:

1. Under Plugins, click into Discussion Lists.
    
2. Uncheck "Disable sending using this method"
    
3. Check "Activate Authorized Senders". Once enabled, you must add their addresses to the "Moderators" list using the "View/Add list administration screens" -- You'll find this to be a clickable link that takes you directly to the screen where you can view the current list of moderators.
   • To add new moderators (a.k.a. authorized senders), in the menu, go to Manage Subscribers > Add. Then be sure to click the Moderators tab! You're in the right place when you see "Manage Additions: Moderators".
   • Input the addresses of those you'd like to authorize.
   • Important Note: The moderators must send their posts from the addresses listed here!
      
4. Keep unchecked "Make this list a discussion list" (see below about making a discussion list)
    
5. Decide how you want the list to handle "Messages from addresses that are allowed to post to this list should:" We recommend that you check the following:
   • be sent to the Subscription List.
      
6. Decide how you want to handle "Message from addresses not allowed to post to this list should:" We recommend that you check both
• send the list owner a "Not a Subscriber" email message, with original message attached.
• send back a "Not Allowed to Post" message.
   
7. Set up the List Email. This is similar to what you did to set up the POP3 box as described in the instructions at the top of this page.
   • List Email: listname@yourdomain.org
   • POP3 Server: mail.yourdomain.org
   • POP3 Username: listname@yourdomain.org
   • POP3 Password: • • • • • • •
     
   Make sure to test your POP3 login information.
     
8. Before anyone starts sending out messages, download this PDF How-To document (Windows users: right-click over this link and in the pop-up dialog box, choose "Save Target As"), read it, and distribute it to all your authorized users. It contains very vital information!

Set up a discussion list
You can turn the list into two-way communications, in which every subscriber can post messages that all the subscribers read and can respond to.

1. Uncheck "Activate Authorized Senders"
2. Check "Make this list a discussion list"
3. Follow Steps 5-8 above.