Help - Distribution List setup

This page is part of the documentation describing the correct use of the Email Account Maintenance Form, and describes the use of the section labeled "Distribute electronic mail to a list of subscriber email addresses". For complete information concerning how email distribution lists work at WebCom, please see our detailed documentation on this subject.

In this section there are three settings you must define in order to setup an email distribution list for this email account: the name of the Subscriber List File that has the "subscriber" addresses listed within it, the directory in which this text file will reside, and the envelope sender address which is the address to which errors will be sent. You also have the option of rewriting the To: address which appears on messages sent to the list. The purpose of this option is to allow for private or moderated lists, or any other uses where the actual list address must be kept private.

In this input box you enter the name of the text file which contains the email addresses of those subscribed to the list. It is important to remember that this file is not created automatically. You will have to create this file manually, either with WebCom's File Manager or by uploading the file with FTP.

Next you must indicate the directory where the system can find the Subscriber List File. All of the directories in your account will be listed automatically. Click once on the correct directory to select it.

This is the address to which errors will be sent should there be trouble in the transmission of messages to the list subscribers. Enter in this box the email address of the person in charge of maintaining the list, so that they may be alerted if addresses on the list become invalid or other problems with the list surface. This is set to your_webcom_userid@webcom.com by default.

The purpose of this option is to allow for private or moderated lists, or any other uses where the actual list address must be kept private. The default value in this field is "undisclosed-recipients@webcom.com", but this can be changed to any address you choose. This option is useful if you do not wish others to know the actual distribution list address, which makes a "moderated" list possible: only you know the address which distributes messages to the subscribers, thus you can control exactly what messages go out.

• Some email programs will insert a non-standard header when sending to distribution lists which reveals the address of this list, despite any rewriting of the To address done by our system. Thus, you will want to test your email program for this behavior before sending to a list that you wish to keep private.
• We recommend sending your distribution list through the WebCom outgoing email server using a POP email client, since some non-WebCom email servers insert the actual list address into the headers of the email. Sending the distribution list through WebCom's email server ensures the actual list address remains private.

Once you have these settings defined, you can hit Submit and your new list will be active within moments.