Removing Subscribers and Unknown Users

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Using IMail Administrator (not Web Messaging or the Web Remote Administration Utility), a list administrator can create special aliases that:

• Subscribe the sender of a mail message to a list
• Remove the sender of a mail message from a list
• Remove unknown users from a list

Once these aliases are created, mail can be forwarded to one of these aliases to accomplish the desired task.

Setting Up an Alias to Remove an Unknown User

If you get "unknown user" or "unknown host" messages about supposed subscribers to a list, you can create an alias to remove such users from a list.

To set up a special alias for removing unknown users or hosts:

1. In 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: Parrots_del
   • Select the Program alias type.
   • Click OK.
4. On the General tab, in the Resolves To box, enter the alias properties using the following format:

   imailsrv -ruhost domain listname 
   

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

imailsrv -ruhost exoticbirds.com Parrotlist 

You can then forward a message about an unknown user or unknown host 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 add himself to the list. Confirmations of the addition of the newly-subscribed user to the list are sent to both the list owner (moderator) and the newly-subscribed user.

Setting Up an Alias to Delete 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.

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©Ipswitch 2001