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List:       majordomo-users
Subject:    Re: precedence question
From:       Chip Old <fold () bcpl ! net>
Date:       2002-03-21 18:52:32
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On Thu, 21 Mar 2002, Alan Septoff wrote to Majordomo-users@greatcircle.com:

> In a [list].config file, one of the toggles is
>
> precedence = [choice]
>
> where the default is "bulk"
>
> Can someone tell me other legal values for precedence?

You can use any string you want to, but the only ones understood more or
less universally are:

special-delivery       100
first-class              0
list                   -30
bulk                   -60
junk                  -100

Those are listed in priority order (special-delivery is highest priority).
The numbers I've added to the right are the relative values or weights
Sendmail assigns by default to each.  Sendmail uses those values to
determine if a message should be sent even if the load on the server is
high, and to determine a message's processing order in Sendmail's queue.
This affects only how the sending MTA deals with the message.  It doesn't
affect the receiving MTA.

However it does affect how some other apps will deal with the message.
Typically either "bulk" or "list" are used for mailing list messages,
because many well-behaved autoresponders will not respond to a messages
that has a "Precedence: bulk" or "Precedence: list" header.  On the other
hand some autoresponders ignore "Precedence: bulk" messages but will
respond to "Precedence: list"  messages.  Of course there are some that
just respond to everything.

I set "precedence  =  list" on most of my lists.  The exception is a
list that I use to send announcements to our customers.  That one I have
set to "precedence  =  first-class" .  Others here will probably take
issue with that...

If you're running Majordomo with an MTA other than Sendmail, check the
MTA's docs to see how it deals with precedence.

-- 
Chip Old (Francis E. Old)             E-Mail:  fold@bcpl.net
Manager, BCPL Network Services        Phone:   410-887-6180
Manager, BCPL.NET Internet Services   FAX:     410-887-2091
320 York Road
Towson, MD 21204  USA


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