About mailing lists

Mailing lists are a feature of the email service we provide that allow for widespread distribution of email messages. The difference between a mailing list and (for example) a group of email addresses you might build in Outlook is that a mailing list is given it's own email address, which can be used by others to send messages to all those addresses on the list (normally called members).

An application called 'Mailman' is used to provide the mailing list service here at Leicester.

Uses of mailing lists

You can use mailing lists for a variety of purposes. They are most applicable in situations where

• You want to create a way for a group of people to discuss something via email, as a group, without needing to know the email addresses of all the other members of the group
  

• You need a way for a limited number of people to send announcements or news out to a group of users, without them all needing to have their own copy of the full list of email addresses
  

Mailing lists can have various restrictions configured on them to allow you to control who can send email to them, what happens with emails once sent, and how subscription (joining the list) is managed.

Requesting and managing a mailing list

Mailing lists are available to all members of the University with a current CFS account (there are instructions on how to apply), although there are some requirements which need to be met before lists can be created for students.

As a mailing list owner there are certain responsibilities you have for the good running and order of the mailing list - it is important that you read and understand these before requesting a list is created.

Once your mailing list has been created, there are some common tasks you may find you need to carry out.

Using mailing lists

A list of current mailing lists, which the owners have decided should be visible publicly is available online. You can subscribe or unsubscribe from those lists there.

You can tell if you have received a message from a mailing list - the subject line will normally look like

[LISTNAME] Subject goes here

where LISTNAME will be replaced with the name of the mailing list. Email messages will also appear to come from an address which is also based on the list name.

When you subscribe to a mailing list you will be given a password (this is not your CFS password) which you will need to change your subscription options, or to unsubscribe. If you forget your password, you can go to the information page for the mailing list and ask for a reminder to be sent from there.