Archives FAQs for list owners

How do I turn archives on and off?

When new lists are created, list owners can request to archive messages. List owners may also change the archive settings.

1. Log in to your list administration screen.
2. In the menu at the top of the page click Settings and select Archiving from the left menu.
3. Next to Archive policy, select whether to have your lists available to the public or only to list subscribers (Private archives).
4. You may also select not to archive the list. If you already have archived content, it will be removed when it reaches two years. By default new lists do not have archives.

Is there an archive size limit?

Archives must be under 500 MB. If your list archive is 500 MB or larger, you will be asked to reduce the size by deleting messages or removing attachments.

What does Mailman do with attachments?

Attachments are retained in the archive as long as the total archive size for the list is below 500 MB. Mailman strips attachments and provides a URL from which to retrieve the message. Message recipients should not rely on the URL location as a storage solution.

What is the archive policy?

See Mailman archive policy.

What if I have content that needs to be kept longer than two years?

Mailman users are responsible for maintaining any content associated with a retention policy. You may also want to review the University Email Policy.

The UW office of Records Management recommends storing exported messages with continuing retention requirements in a persistent, shared repository so that they can be located, accessed, and deleted per the retention schedule. Review these University-supported options for online storage.

In order to comply with the University’s retention and email policies, we strongly encourage you to review the contents of your Mailman archives, saving only the content that is still subject to retention, rather than simply downloading and storing all contents.