How to Create a Mailing List (old)
From CFAES Help Documentation and FAQs Project
Documentation and Help (old) > How to Create a Mailing List (old)
| WARNING! |
| The information in this article is severely depreciated.It is only provided for legacy purposes and is scheduled to be removed. Please refer to the current revised version of this document, if available. |
A mailing list is an excellent way to provide for the distribution of text material among a group of individuals related by interest or task. All mail sent to a mailing list is forwarded to all subscribers of that list.
To create a College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences mailing list, four items need to be submitted.
- The name of the list? The name is usually an abbreviation or acronym of the list's description, ex. OST-TEAM, AFFIRMACT. We suggest 6 to 10 characters in the name, enough to be meaningful but not too many to remember easily.
- The description of the list? A 30 or so character string describing the list to potential subscribers, ex. Ohio State Teaching Team, National Extension Leadership Department. Frequently just spells out the acronym or abbreviation.
- Who is the owner? A list owner is responsible for managing the list. The more restrictive the list, the more time this job requires. A list owner can add or remove individuals from the mailing list's subscriber roster. As lists become more restricted, requests to subscribe, and ultimately even the postings themselves, must be screened by the owner. Error reports about bad subscriber addresses (bounced mail) will go to the owner. The owner must be a responsible person with time to commit to learning how to manage and then manage the list.
- How protected will the list be? The four basic mailing list protection levels are:
- Public: Anyone can subscribe or unsubscribe from the list; anyone can post to the list. Most college lists are public.
- Semi-Public: Anyone can [un]subscribe, but only subscribers can post to the list.
- Private: Only subscribers can post to the list, and all subscription requests are screened by the owner of the list.
- One-Way: Only designated individuals can post to the list, and the owner also screens all subscription requests.
- Will you allow attachments? Most mailing lists are "text only", meaning that messages may not contain attachments, HTML, rich text formats or images. These add to the size of messages and can be a problem for those subscribers who download their messages over a phone line. Attachments such spreadsheets, databases, and word processor documents also presumes that those receiving the message have the appropriate software and version to view the attachment, and the skill to use it. Unfortunately, many users send e-mail as an attachment without realizing it and will not understand why their e-mail is being rejected. A signature file with color text, an HTML link, or a Mailto: link are examples of subtletie which cause message rejection.
These and many other attributes are adjustable by the owner after the list is created.
Provide these five items to Harry Laufman, Computer Operations Manager, and your list will be created. The address is: laufman.1@osu.edu
Once a list is created, how do individuals subscribe? The preferred method for putting a name on the mailing list, is for that person to send e-mail
- To: listserver@postoffice.ag.ohio-state.edu
with the one line message:
- subscribe listname
where listname is the name of the list they wish to subscribe to, ALL-EXTENSION for example.
This method is prefered since mailing addresses are extracted from an actual e-mail message, avoiding human transcription errors and misunderstandings.
Alternatively, the owner is privileged to add or remove subscriber names. Owners are provided with documentation about their privileges and responsibilities.
The owner manages the mailing list through a special owners account and a very friendly web interface.
Subscribers receive confirmation of their enrollment, and brief documentation of commands authomatically on subscription.
