Mailing List
Mailing List
In order to send same email to a group of people, an electron list is created which is know as Mailing List. It is the list server which receives and distributes postings and automatically manages subscriptions.
Mailing list offers a forum, where users from all over the globe can answer questions and have them answered by others with shared interests.
Types of Mailing List
Following are the various types of mailing lists:
Response List
It contains the group of people who have responsed to an offer in some way. These people are the customers who have shown interest in specific product or service.
Compiled List
The compiled list is prepared by collecting information from various sources such as surveys, telemarketing etc.
Announcements
These lists are created for sending out coupans , new product announcements and other offers to the customers.
Discussion List
This list is created for sharing views on a specific topic suchas computer, environment , healt, education etc.
How does mailing list work?
Before joining a mailing list, it is mandatory to subscribe to it. Once you are subscribed, your message will be sent to all the persons who have subscribed to the list. Similarly if any subscriber posts a message, then it will be received by all subscribers of the list.
Finding Mailing List
There are a number of websites are available to maintain database of publically accessible mailing list. Some of these are:
Mailing lists can also be found using Google website. In Google, move to directory and the follow: Computers > Internet >Mailing List > Directories.
Subscribing to Mailing List
To subscribe to a list, you need to send an email message to the administrative address mailing list containing one or more commands. For example, if you want to subscribe to Harry Potter list in gurus.com where name of the list server us Majordomo, then you have to send email to majordom@gurus.com containing the text, Subscribe harry potter in its body.
After sending the email, you will receive a confirmation email for your subscription. This email will include list of commands that will help you to perform various operations such as unsubscribing, receiving acknowledgement, and find out what list you are subscribed to.
There are many list servers available, each having its own commands for subscribing to the list. Some of them are described in the following table:
| List Server | Command | Example |
|---|
| LISTSERV | subscribe listname yourname | subscribe commdhtml rahul |
| Majordomo | subscribe listname | subscribe commdhtml |
| ListProc | subscribe listname yourname | subscribe commdhtml rahul |
