New mailing list service

A new version of the Sympa mailing list service has been made available from the 1st November.

Sympa upgrade

We have upgraded the version of the Sympa mailing list software.   This version has a number of bug fixes, security fixes and an updated web interface.

What doesn't change

What hasn't changing is the way the mailing list service works. People remain subscribed to the same mailing lists. The mailing lists have kept their names and email addresses. Email commands remain the same and the basic administration of a mailing list has not changed. The types of list that can be created remain the same and how permissions and the way archives work remain the same.

Unfortunately, the new interface does not work any better than the old interface did with screen reader software. We and others have made requests to the software authors to address this in future releases.

What has changed

The web interface appearance is the main noticeable difference on the updated service is the appearance of the web interface. This has a more modern look and feel with an adaptive interface that works better with modern browsers and devices of different sizes e.g. mobile phones and tablets.  The main functions of the web interface, however, do not change (see above).

The main differences between the old and new are:

• the left hand menu of lists that you own or are subscribed to no longer exists. To see the list of lists you own or are on you need to click the button My Lists.
• the classification of lists by school, college or business unit used to be referred to as Topics; these are now known as Categories.
• the colour scheme of the interface now utilises colours from the University web style guide.
• the web interface is adaptive and so can scale to larger and to smaller screen sizes dynamically.