IMail - How to use a Program Alias to add or remove list server mail list subscribers

Question/Problem:  How can I use a Program Alias to add or remove subscribers to a list server mail list.

Answer/Solution: The host or system administrator can create a Program Alias that allow a user to subscribe to a list by forwarding a message from that user to the alias.

Note: When you Forward a message to the Program Alias, you must use a mail client that does not edit the message before sending. Two that will work are the IMail Client (on the server) and Web Messaging.

The user specified in the Reply-To header (or the From header if Reply-To is not found) of the message will be added to the list. The body of the message is ignored. Note that the message must be forwarded unmodified (with the headers unchanged), otherwise the forwarder will add or remove himself from the list.

Setting up an Alias to Add a User by Forwarding

To set up a special alias for adding a user by forwarding a message:

1.) Go to IMail Administrator | localhost | your_domain | Aliases. (In versions before 6.0 see IMail User Manager or IMail Administrator, select the Add Alias function. )

2.) Enter an alias name, for example: add_me

3.) Select the Program alias type.

4.) Enter the alias properties using the following format:

c:\imail\imailsrv -add domain_name listname

For example (for a list named "IMailinfo"):

c:\imail\imailsrv -add mailer.ipswitch.com IMailinfo

You can then forward a message to the alias (add_me) and the original sender of the message will be subscribed.

Confirmations of the addition of the newly-subscribed user to the list are sent to both the list owner (or moderator) and the newly-subscribed user.

Setting up an Alias to Remove a User by Forwarding

To set up a special alias for deleting a user by forwarding a message:

1. In the left panel of IMail Administrator, expand a host and select the Aliases folder.
2. Click Add Alias in the right panel.
3. In the New Alias dialog box:
   • Enter an alias name, for example: Parrot_del
   • Select the Program alias type.
   • Click OK.
4. On the alias's General tab, in the Resolves To box, enter the alias properties using the following format:

imailsrv -remove domain listname

For example, suppose you create a program alias Parrot_del that resolves to:

imailsrv -remove exoticbirds.com Parrotlist

You can then forward a message from anyone to Parrots_del@exoticbirds.com; the user specified in the Reply-To header (or the From header if Reply-To is not found) of the forwarded message is removed from Parrotlist. (The body of the message is ignored.)

Note: The message must be forwarded unmodified (with the headers unchanged), otherwise the forwarder will remove himself/herself from the list. A message is sent to the list owner (or moderator) to verify the removal of the user. When adding a user, a verification message is also sent to the subscriber.