Goodbye, Facebook
August 2, 2019 12:55 PM Subscribe
I want to host a private, plaintext email list serv. How do I do that cheaply and easily? I am willing to pay for hosting/software. I have zero code skills and don't really want to learn much. What's a good option for me + 50 of my closest friends?
Response by poster: The first two.
I would rather not use Google Groups; back in the old days, we used an eGroup, which became a YahooGroup, which was shut down when Yahoo shut down the service. I don't want to be vulnerable to Google shutting down the groups service.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:34 PM on August 2, 2019
I would rather not use Google Groups; back in the old days, we used an eGroup, which became a YahooGroup, which was shut down when Yahoo shut down the service. I don't want to be vulnerable to Google shutting down the groups service.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:34 PM on August 2, 2019
Pair.com also hosts listserves. Pair.com is cool.
posted by amtho at 1:38 PM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by amtho at 1:38 PM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
Run your own social was on the blue a few weeks ago; it relates to runyourown.social:
How to run a small social network site for your friends
Since August 2018 I have run a social network site called Friend Camp for about 50 of my friends. I think Friend Camp is a really nice place, and my friends seem to agree that it has enriched our lives. I'd like to see more places like Friend Camp on the internet, and this document is my attempt to provide some practical guidance as to how you might run a social network site like this.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:53 PM on August 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
How to run a small social network site for your friends
Since August 2018 I have run a social network site called Friend Camp for about 50 of my friends. I think Friend Camp is a really nice place, and my friends seem to agree that it has enriched our lives. I'd like to see more places like Friend Camp on the internet, and this document is my attempt to provide some practical guidance as to how you might run a social network site like this.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:53 PM on August 2, 2019 [3 favorites]
Running one's own social network is probably overkill here. Mailman, as noted by mkb, and as probably offered by Pair (by amtho), is almost certainly the right answer for you if all you really want is a mailing list.
And, honestly, isn't that all any of us really want?
posted by uberchet at 2:35 PM on August 2, 2019
And, honestly, isn't that all any of us really want?
posted by uberchet at 2:35 PM on August 2, 2019
They're long-disused, but I have Mailman lists on Dreamhost that are 20 years old and I'm pretty sure they still work. It does the job.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:42 PM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 2:42 PM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
I am a member of a group that uses phpBB. Info at http://www.phpbb.com/. It may demand more tech savvy than you would like to set up but it has run for years without any admin at all.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:46 PM on August 2, 2019
posted by SemiSalt at 4:46 PM on August 2, 2019
groups.io is being used by a bunch of enthusiast groups I'm a member of to good effect.
posted by kdar at 5:02 PM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by kdar at 5:02 PM on August 2, 2019 [1 favorite]
With the advent of DKIM, you have to jump through a bunch of extra hoops to get your mailman server set up so that gmail and others won't just flat reject all your emails as spam.
posted by scruss at 6:25 PM on August 2, 2019
posted by scruss at 6:25 PM on August 2, 2019
I came to recommend groups.io as well. They saw a market in private mailing groups and they serve it very well.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:19 PM on August 2, 2019
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:19 PM on August 2, 2019
Response by poster: Riseup would be great, but it is not a political list (other than incidentally.)
Mailman and phpbb are too hard for me. I can't figure out how I am supposed to combine the hosting and the software. I guess FTP, but from there...? I really need directions written for lowly end-users. It's a lot of money for something that I can't get running without, realistically, a few months of tinkering.
So thanks for your advice, I'm going with groups.io until I can figure out how to migrate us all to a better solution.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:47 AM on August 6, 2019
Mailman and phpbb are too hard for me. I can't figure out how I am supposed to combine the hosting and the software. I guess FTP, but from there...? I really need directions written for lowly end-users. It's a lot of money for something that I can't get running without, realistically, a few months of tinkering.
So thanks for your advice, I'm going with groups.io until I can figure out how to migrate us all to a better solution.
posted by blnkfrnk at 7:47 AM on August 6, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
If it's just "I don't want some random person to be able to read these emails" then start a Google Group and set posting and reading to members only. If it's the other two kinds of "private" then you'll need to host it yourself somewhere, using software such as mailman. If it's the last kind of "private" then good luck.
posted by caek at 1:02 PM on August 2, 2019