Documentation for the ListGate module.

docs/listgate.txt

+Synchronet ListGate Installation/Configuration
+==============================================
+
+$Id$
+
+Overview
+--------
+The Synchronet ListGate (exec/listgate.js) allows a sysop to gate one or more
+sub-boards (message areas) with existing, remotely hosted, Internet mailing
+lists.
+
+
+Requirements
+------------
+The Synchronet ListGate requires Synchronet v3.12 or later.
+
+
+How it works
+------------
+The Synchronet ListGate module (listgate.js) actually only handles the
+"exporting" of new messages posted to the local sub-board to the mailing list
+(sent as SMTP e-mail messages). The "importing" of messages from the mailing
+list is handled by a special feature of the Synchronet SMTP server which
+allows messages received for specific addresses to be posted to local
+sub-boards.
+
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+1. If you haven't already, create the message area (sub-board) in SCFG that
+   you want to gate with an existing mailing list. Be sure to make a note
+   of the configured "internal code".
+
+   If you set the access or posting requirements, you'll need to append
+   "OR USER=0" to the requirements string(s) to allow posts from
+   unauthenticated SMTP clients.
+
+2. Edit your ctrl/listgate.ini file, creating a separate section for
+   each sub-board that will be gated. Example (if "mysub" is the internal
+   code for the gated sub-board and "mybbs.com" is the BBS's public
+   host or domain name for receiving e-mail):
+
+   [mysub]
+        to = listname@listserver.com
+        from = listname@mybbs.com
+
+   If the line "disabled=true" is included in the file, remove it to enable
+   the listgate.
+
+3. Edit your ctrl/alias.cfg file, adding a line to accept submissions from
+   the mailing list as posts to the locally gated sub-board:
+
+   listname sub:mysub
+
+   This will redirect any SMTP e-mail messages received for 
+   "listname@mybbs.com" as posts to the sub-board "mysub".
+
+4. Configure your account on the list server (if you can) to not "echo back"
+   any submissions received from you. This will prevent the dreaded "dupe
+   loop" you would otherwise encounter.
+
+   The listgate module will automatically not export any messages that were
+   posted via SMTP (preventing any "dupe loop" from the BBS to the list).
+
+5. Setup a timed event (in SCFG->External Programs->Timed Events) to run the
+   command-line "?listgate.js" periodically. This will export any new messages
+   in the sub-board(s) configured in listgate.ini as e-mail submissions to the
+   mailing list.
+
+
+Maintenance
+-----------
+The export pointers are kept in the file data/subs/code.listgate.ptr, where 
+"code" is the sub-board's internal code.
+
+You can execute "?listgate.js -u" to update the export pointers *without*
+actually exporting any existing messages to the list, or you may execute
+"?listgate -r" to reset the export pointers, so that *all* the existing
+messages in the sub-board will be exported to the mailing list
+(even if they were previously exported).
+
+/* End of file */
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