An electronic mailing list is a server-based application that automates e-mail distribution to participants who subscribe to the list. In its simplest terms, when an authorized person sends an e-mail to that list, everyone on the list gets the e-mail. From a user’s perspective, you see periodic e-mails in your Inbox that are addressed to the mailing list.
Note
E-mail lists go by many names. Mailing Lists, Lists, Internet Mailing Lists, and Mailing List Servers are some of the names for e-mail lists, while MajorDomo and LISTSERV are the trade names of two of the more popular e-mail list applications. For purposes of consistency in this book, I’ll refer to them as simple e-mail lists.