This page provides an overview of the WebCom Email Distribution List service. It defines what an email distribution list is, how it works, and provides pointers to information on our automated email distribution list management services.

• What is an Email Distribution List?
• Setting Up An Email Distribution List
• Maintaining an Email Distribution List
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Sample Message

An email distribution list is a list of email addresses in a text file. This text file is associated with an email address. When a message is sent to the email address, it is automatically redistributed to each of the email addresses in the text file.

Email Distribution Lists are an integrated part of WebCom's Email Services. You can set up and delete an unlimited number of email distribution lists using our Email Account Maintenance Form, the standard form used for creating all varieties of email addresses at WebCom. This form enables you to setup and delete email distribution lists without intervention by WebCom administration.

See our step-by-step directions for information on setting up a Distribution List. See our E mail Services documentation for information on other email configuration options.

After setting up your list, if the file specified on the setup form does not already exist, it will need to be created. The format of this file is simple: each email address must be listed on a separate line, with no blank lines between, as in:

user@site.com
user@othersite.com (Names/Descriptions Can Be Put In Parentheses)
auser@small.org

An example of a badly formatted subscriber list file would look like this:

Joe Smith
jsmith@site.com

Sally Ingram
sji@small.org

The above will cause the distribution list to fail, as it will try to interpret "Joe Smith" as an Internet email address, and the blank line will also cause errors.

Maintaining an email distribution list is simply a matter of adding and deleting email addresses from the file pointed to by the email distribution list (a sample form enabling your subscribers to subscribe and unsubscribe themselves through the World Wide Web is available).

Warning: Subscribing anyone to a mailing list without their consent is a violation of WebCom's Acceptable Use Policy and may result in immediate termination of your account!

By default, the message is listed as having come from the person sending the message, and has the list address as the To: address. If you wish the list address to remain secret, as in the case of "moderated" lists (where messages sent to the list subscribers are approved before posting), you can specify a different address to show up in the "To:" line. Note: Some email programs (such as Eudora) insert extra headers into messages. If you wish to keep your list address private, then we recommend that you disable this feature when sending messages to your list.

Here is an example of what a message will look like when received by a subscriber to your email distribution list:
Sample Message

phone: 1-800-GETVERIO
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