Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are a popular tool for community collaboration among developers, and for facilitating public and private governance discussions and email-based voting.

What is Groups.io?

Groups.io is a platform for managing email lists, providing public and private discussions, voting, and archiving features.

Key Features:

• Supports both public and private lists

• A web-based archive of past email threads (topics) for easy reference

• Convenient option to host lists on groups.linuxfoundation.org for projects in the formation stage

• Customized, white-labeled list domain for established projects

• Integration with existing projects and customization options

• A popular choice for community collaboration and governance

Adding a Mailing List

Prerequisites

• You must have access to PCC and privileges to manage the mailing lists.

• Active project setup within the PCC environment.

To add a mailing list, follow these steps:

1. Click Collaboration > Mailing Lists from the left navigation on the main dashboard.

   This will redirect you to the mailing list management page.

2. Click on the Add Mailing List button to add a new mailing list.

If your project doesn't currently have a groups.io mailing list, then you need to configure them.

1. Upon clicking Add Mailing List, you will encounter the following options to configure your mailing list:

   1. Use Existing PCC-Connected Groups.io Domain:

      • This option is available if there is an available Groups.io domain connected to your PCC project, such as your project's foundation groups.io domain.

        • Action: If your project wants to use the foundation lists domain, use this option.

   2. Set up a New Groups.io Domain:

      • Choose this if you wish to establish a new Groups.io domain specifically for your project. This will use your project's defined primary domain for your mailing lists.

      • Action: Select "I would like to set up my own Groups.io email domain for this project."

   3. (Advanced) Set up Existing Groups.io Domain:

      • This is for advanced users who need to configure an existing Groups.io domain that is not yet connected to PCC.

        • Action: Contact support for assistance with this setup.

1. Detailed Configuration of the Mailing List

   The PCC will automatically create a [email protected] with Public, Announcement permissions. You will need to define any additional sub-lists you want during this creation flow. You must create at least one sub-list.

Enter List Name and Description

• List Name: Assign a unique name for the mailing list. For example, if you want to create a TSC mailing list "[email protected]", enter "tsc".

• Description: Provide a detailed description of the mailing list’s purpose and intended use.

Select Permissions

• Choose from the dropdown menu the type of permission setting for the mailing list:

  • Announcement: Only selected members can post, suitable for newsletters or announcements.

  • Moderated Discussion: Posts by members are moderated before being published.

  • Open Discussion: All members can post without prior moderation, promoting free-flow discussions.

  This table shows the posting and subscribing permissions for each selection:

Permission Type Selection	Posting Permissions	Subscribing Restrictions	Notes / Details
Moderated Discussion	New members cannot post to the list without their emails being approved by a moderator.	Unrestricted	For new lists, this uses a Groups.io setting that will only moderate users for their first 3 posts.
Open Discussion	New members can immediately post to the list.	Restricted	Since new members can post immediately, subscribing is restricted in order to prevent spam. Moderators will need to add members manually or approve new subscribers.
Announcement	Only moderators can post to the list.	Unrestricted	Since only moderators can post, there are no restrictions on who can subscribe.

You can also have "Custom" which means the settings have been modified in the groups.io UI, and doesn't match our defaults.

Set Privacy

• Check the “Private” box if the list should be private. This ensures that only invited members can view and participate. Note: Once set as private, the list cannot be made public later.

---

1. Final Steps and Saving the Configuration

• After configuring all settings, review them to ensure they align with the project’s communication needs.

• Click “Save” to finalize the creation of the mailing list.

After a brand new main mailing list has been created, you will see it displayed without the primary domain, "[email protected]". This is temporary until the lists can be converted to the LF enterprise plan, and until the DNS has finished propagating. Please check back after 24 hours.

---

Managing Members in the mailing list

Managing members in a mailing list can be a straightforward process when you know the right actions to take

1. Introduction

Following the outlined instructions, you can effectively add and organize members, ensuring your communication channels remain effective and up-to-date.

Introduction

2. Click here

Initiate the process by accessing the designated area

Click here

3. Click "Manage Members"

Navigate to the member management section to proceed

Click 'Manage Members'

4. Select the member type

From the drop-down, select if you want to add a committee member or a direct member.

Select the member type

5. Click Direct

Search and add a new member

Click Direct

6. Click "Add Member"

Begin the addition of a new member to your list

Click 'Add Member'

7. Click "Search user"

Utilize the search feature to find the specific user

Click 'Search user'

8. Click and select the desired member from the search option

Select the desired user from the search results

Click and select the desired member from the search option

9. Click "Add Member"

Confirm the addition of the selected individual

Click 'Add Member'

10. Click here

Proceed further to manage additional memberships

Click here

11. Click "Committee"

Access the committee section for more options

Click 'Committee'

12. Click "Add Member"

Initiate the process to include another member

Click 'Add Member'

13. Type the committee member name

Enter "veeren" in the provided field

Type the committee member name

14. Select the member from the list

Choose the second user from the list provided

select the member from the list

15. Click here

Move ahead to finalize the membership process

Click here