Chebucto Suite Workshop 3

December 13, 1995

Note to all readers: (Workshop Team and Others)

Please give us your feedback on these Workshop notes. The notes form working documents which will provide much of the documentation for Chebucto Suite, and will be updated based on comments and developments. Send E-mail to cfn-tech@chebucto.ns.ca

Bulk Mailer Project

A group discussion was led by David J. Murdoch in which much brainstorming took place. David developed the first prototype for the Bulk Mailer.

Goals:

allow selection of a target group
allow setting start and expiry date
trigger "bulk mail message" when user logs in during target period
avoid sending to currently inactive accounts, thus saving significant system resources
avoid obsolete mail in occasional users' mailboxes
record dispatch of each message so user only gets one copy

Tasks

Target group list generation / identification
Suggested lists were:
- All users
- All members
- All non-members
- All IP Editors
- All press contacts
- Existing Mailing lists on MajorDomo
- File of addresses
The lists may need to be validated, and optionally flagged to include users on mail-forwarding. The method and purpose limits the targets to accounts on the Chebucto Suite site. (A MajorDomo List would serve the purpose for external mailings, which have no login function to activate the system.)
Origination Method: Form and Script to accept and validate user's input, and attach text or file reference. Mail input might be an alternative method.
Invokation
User notification: plans for a script generated Welcome Page (g xwelcome to see first draft) which will include a "You have [new] mail" flag line, among other features.
setup headers
placement of flag for message
- dispatch at login,
- check message flag for this user, if any. The mechanism is not yet finalized, but might involve something like this script segment:
```
grep "$USER" list/* | sort > 1
grep "$USER" sent/* | sort > 2
comm -23 1 2
```
  This would produce a list of messages to be delivered.
- post messages: perhaps have script autodeliver message by appending (with locking) to user's inbox file.
- mark delivered: Append "$USER" to sent/filename for each message sent. Alternatively, one might use sed to change a flag character in the list.
Proposed storage scheme:
The filename is formed by adding a disambiguator to the Unix date of expiry of the delivery period, i.e. expiry-date.disambiguator. The message owner will be kept as the submitter. The date of file creation shows the start date. (further discussion?)
```
.../bulkmail/msgs/filename   # message content
            /list/filename   # target list
            /sent/filename   # sent list (to avoid duplication)
```
Access Authorization
Purge, archive(?) and report to submitter

Shell Scripts

Shell accounts will be made available to Workshop Members on the LINUX PC in the CCN office to work on scripts; arrangements to manage scripts on CCN can be made as needed.

Next Meeting January 3, 1996.

Gerard MacNeil will speak on CGI Headers
David Bennett will give a short talk on Chebucto Suite Distribution
Carlos Freitas volunteered to take notes.

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On-line Coordinator David J. Murdoch