#pragma page-filename DOC/versions/4030611
== 4.55. Is there a GUI installation tool for Mailman? ==

No. There are two problems here.

One problem that Mailman has to support a very wide variety of hardware platforms, and developing a GUI installation tool that would work on all of them would be a monumental task. So far as I know, there are no GUI installation tools that run across dozens and dozens of different hardware/OS platform combinations. In order to make that happen, you'd basically have to have your own OS that you port along with you, as well as your own GUI environment, your own desktop manager, etc....

Moreover, even on a single platform, it is very hard to write a good GUI installation tool, and to do the job right. Even the biggest software vendors in the world with billions and billions of dollars have a hard time writing a good GUI installation tool, even for their captive audiences. Now, imagine a small volunteer-run open source project trying to do that kind of thing across all the dozens and dozens of hardware/OS platforms that they support.

Problem number two is that each hardware/OS platform is going to have their own idea of how these sorts of things should be done, and there would be no way that we could possibly adhere to all these different conflicting rules across all the different platforms that we support.

If you want/need the kind of hand-holding, then you need to use a binary package version of Mailman that is provided by your OS vendor. If you have any problems with that binary package version, you should first contact your OS vendor support system - they will know where they put the standard documentation that is normally provided with Mailman, they will know how the binary was built, they will have some idea of standard MTA configurations for your type of machine, etc....

Some commercial web hosts provide "one click installs" of "discussion lists", using Mailman. E.g., Dreamhost. Also note Cpanel, See [[../Mailman and CPanel|Mailman and CPanel]] .

Converted from the Mailman FAQ Wizard

This is one of many [[../Frequently Asked Questions|Frequently Asked Questions]].