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Using Your Own Lists for Email Distribution

ListServ is a commercial software package housed on one of Drexel's Unix servers. It is primarily used to simplify the sending of mass email communication, and it functions something like a distribution center or wholesale warehouse. The product (in this case, the email message) is sent to one location (or email address, in this case a ListServ list), and that location handles the distribution to as many or as few recipients on the chosen list.

All lists are managed by the list owner(s), who must be members of the Drexel community. ListServ lists are managed via email commands, the Web Interface, or both.

When Do I Need a ListServ List?

You might want to consider requesting a mailing list to streamline your communication, or if you need to email more than two hundred individuals on a regular basis (see Special Mailings for infrequent or one-time mailings). For example:

  • If you are a faculty member, you might prefer to email assignments and other information to all of your students through one email address instead of 20 or more. Class lists are great for this purpose.

  • If you are a president of a student organization, you might wish to communicate with your fellow members. Organizational/Departmental lists are great for this purpose. (Verification of recognition for the current academic year is required.)

  • A department head or assistant might wish to send email to all faculty and staff in their department, or to all of the students majoring in that department's subject(s). Organizational/Departmental lists are great for this purpose.

Whether or not a ListServ mailing list is the best tool depends on a number of variables and what functions you need the list to perform.

Variables to Consider

When determining whether or not to request list creation, a potential list owner should consider a number of variables:

Size of the Address List

To conserve system resources, Drexel systems are configured to block any standalone emails with more than two hundred addresses in the header. This restriction sets an absolute maximum for emails to, from, or within the Drexel network. At Drexel, a ListServ list is the only way to send messages to more than the maximum number of email addresses.

However, lists can be created for any number of recipients.

Frequency of List Use

If you only need to send messages to a list once or twice, the labor involved in creating the list and learning how to manage it might be more than it's worth. (In these cases, request a special mailing.)

If you plan on frequently sending messages to the same list of addresses, then requesting a ListServ list is worthwhile, even if you are well within the maximum header size limits. Frequency could range from a monthly newsletter to multiple messages per month.

Stability of Address List

Part of managing a ListServ list means adding or deleting subscribers on the list.

Some lists have a stable population of subscribers, while others will constantly change. For example:

Lists with subscribers that remain relatively static:

  • Class lists
  • Departmental staff lists
  • VIP lists

Lists with constantly changing subscribers:

  • Student organization lists
  • Lists with open subscription
  • Alumni lists
  • Student lists for specific majors or programs

Managing a list means learning how to use email commands to ListServ, or learning how to navigate and use the Web Interface. More information about managing a ListServ list can be found in the ListServ Manager's Survival Guide. A stable list will require little to no management, while a constantly changing list will require active management.

Privacy of the Address List

Have you ever received a message with scores or hundreds of addresses visible in the "To" field? Some recipients object strenuously to the visibility of their email addresses. To them, this visibility is both an invasion of privacy and raw material for someone else's spam list.

ListServ lists, on the other hand, only show the list's email address and not the individual addresses subscribed to it. Thus, ListServ lists reduce the opportunity for unauthorized individuals to construct their mailing lists from your mailing lists.

NOTE: If you prefer, you can insert the list address or copy the recipients' addresses into the "Bcc" (Blind Carbon Copy) field; then, in the "To:" field, put your own email address. That way, the only address the recipients will see is yours.

Pros and Cons to Consider

Our Lists 

Pros

  • IRT distributes the message for you.
  • IRT maintains the list population automatically, so no management is required on your part.
  • IRT's HTML templates make plain text messages look more professional.
  • All messages are standardized to include the Drexel logo or approval stamp, and thus help recipients to distinguish between official University email and phishing/email scams.
  • HTML emails crafted by the requestor or the requestor's department can be thoroughly tested across email clients for accessibility and formatting, and subsequently distributed by IRT.

Cons

  • Most messages require approval from a vice president or higher (or designated official) before distribution.
  • Sending of your messages might be delayed.

Your Own Lists

Pros

  • You can send out messages yourself without requiring a middleman.
  • You maintain control over when the message is distributed.
  • You can control who is subscribed to your list, and who isn't.
  • No approval is needed to send messages.

Cons

  • All list owners will need to learn how to manage their list(s).
  • If you are sending your own HTML messages, you will need to learn HTML coding for email, test it across clients (if you want to ensure proper formatting), and learn how to send HTML with your email email client. Some clients are better than others for sending HTML. Sending HTML email on an individual basis is not user friendly.

What Types of ListServ Lists Are Available?

There are several different types of mailing lists that perform different functions. Numerous options are available for configuring these lists, so if you don't see an option you need on the "How to Request a List" page, let the Mass Mailing team know.

Announcement Lists

An announcement list tightly restricts who can send messages to the list. It is used to send out one-way messages, newsletters, or announcements. Only owners of the list and "authorized senders" can send messages to the list.

Subscriptions to the list can be controlled by the list owner, or the list can be open to user subscription.

Discussion Lists

Discussion lists are for two-way communication between list owners and subscribers. There are two types of discussion lists with loose or no restrictions, respectively:

  • In a private discussion list, all subscribers and owners on the list can post messages to the list.

  • In a public discussion list, anyone can send messages to the list.

Lists can also be set as moderated or unmoderated:

  • In a moderated discussion list, all messages sent to the list are forwarded to the editor and/or moderators for approval before the message is distributed.

  • In an unmoderated discussion list, messages are posted directly to the list.

NOTE: Public unmoderated lists invite spam since anyone can send messages to the list without approval.

Blank Lists

Sometimes a list owner will need to send out messages to a list that is composed of a different group of subscribers each time. For example, an admissions officer might want to send out invitations for campus tours to a different list of prospective students each week. If the list owner is comfortable with subscribing and unsubscribing recipients, he/she can request the creation of a blank list. Such a list is essentially an empty matrix where the list owner can add or delete a list of addresses as necessary.