Using dlists

If you send to and receive one time or sporadic mail from smaller groups, you may want to establish a distribution list. Distribution lists are created by placing a list of mail recipients in a file called "distribution list." This file is stored in an AFS directory in your Andrew account. It is conventional to name distribution list files with a ".dl" extension (e.g., group.dl). In general, a different distribution list is needed for each group to whom you want to send mail. The distribution list contains at least two types of information:

• The names of the people on the list
• Information about where errors in the distribution list should be sent (usually, to the person or persons who can fix the distribution list).

Names included in the list must represent actual user ID's as recognized by the mailing system or a valid email address.

Any user at any site can send to a distribution list if he or she:

• can send mail successfully to an Andrew user
• uses the proper notation for sending the mail

Note: If you prefer to use a mailing list in which members can join or cancel their involvement as needed, you may want to use the Andrew Mailman System (see Mailman: Using the Andrew Mailman List).