Strange Quark

I'm interested in starting an occasional e-mail #newsletter to keep in touch with people who like my #TTRPG books. I'd like to avoid #proprietary solutions like #MailChimp.

Does anyone have experience running an #opensource #selfhosted #mailinglist manager they would like to share? What would you recommend?

(I am experienced in #Linux and I already have a self-hosted VM).

#askfedi #foss #freesoftware

Dec 29 at 10:17amWeb
Show threadStrange QuarkDec 29

I have set up Mailman BitD, but I'm not sure how it has kept up with newer offerings.

Searching around, I found this list of hosted mailing list services in France using #FOSS :
https://www.chatons.org/en/search/by-service?service_type_target_id=All&field_alternatives_aux_services_target_id=408&field_software_target_id=All&field_is_shared_value=All&title=

The listed services are using #Mailman, #Sympa and #Listmonk.

Listmonk also appears top of the list on alternative.to:
https://alternativeto.net/software/mailchimp/?license=opensource

Find by service | CHATONS

Show threadGemma ⭐️🔰🇺🇸 🇵🇭 🎐Dec 29

@strangequark I used to run Majordomo a lot, but I would suggest GNU Mailman as a currently-maintained alternative.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mailing_list_software

List of mailing list software - Wikipedia

Show threadFace ThumbDec 29
@strangequark I haven't done email, but additionally you could do a website and RSS feed if you don't have those already. It could be as simple as wordless/drupal/hugo/etc. possibly with an RSS plugin.
Show threadStrange QuarkDec 29

@chrisp I used Jekyll for my website https://www.strangequark.eu/ and indeed there is an RSS feed there.

The mailing list will serve a different function, for occassional announcements for people who would like to be notified when I publish a new book.

Strange Quark Games

Strange Quark is the repository for the creative projects of Michael C. Davis, including role-playing game supplements for OSR RPGs such as Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC RPG), Castles & Crusades and other D&D retroclones.

Strange Quark Games
Show threadFace ThumbDec 29
@strangequark Awesome. Yeah, they are different formats. I see email as more personalised, for a more serious customer relationship. I like RSS, but it is definitely nerdier and is very casual.
Show threadRoger BW 😷Dec 29
@strangequark I set up a mailman list and set it so that only I can post to it. Mailman isn't great but it's what there is. Note that I already run my own mail.
Show threadstaxlJan 13
@strangequark I'm pretty happy with listmonk. Great alternative to Mailchimp I think. Especially since you have your own server already. Lacks a lot of Mailchimp's features for sure, but I think most of those are aimed towards businesses anyway. So for private newsletter managing I definitely recommend it.
Show threadStrange QuarkJan 13

@staxl Yes I went ahead and installed listmonk. It was pretty easy to set up.

The time-consuming bits were the DNS/web server/SSL certificate configuration and CSS theming to make it look like the rest of my website.

Website is https://strangequark.eu (on Github Pages) and Listmonk is on https://listmonk.strangequark.eu (self-hosted) but I managed to get it to look fairly seamless.

Now all I need is some subscribers :)

Strange Quark Games

Strange Quark is the repository for the creative projects of Michael C. Davis, including role-playing game supplements for OSR RPGs such as Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC RPG), Castles & Crusades and other D&D retroclones.

Strange Quark Games
Show threadStrange QuarkJan 13
@staxl I also put a Listmonk subscription form on the sidebar of my posts: https://www.strangequark.eu/rpg/return-of-the-ripper/
Return of the Ripper

Strange Quark Games
Show threadstaxlJan 13
@strangequark great! Good to hear you got it to work. Yeah, setting up the server and SSL can be a little tricky. I hope it'll be easier in the future, so it might become a viable solution for not tech-savvy users, too.