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A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the list".

east two types of mailing lists can be defined: An announcement list is closer to the original sense, where a "mailing list" of people was used as a recipient for newsletters, periodicals or advertising.






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A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the list".

Two different types of mailing lists

At least two types of mailing lists can be defined: An announcement list is closer to the original sense, where a "mailing list" of people was used as a recipient for newsletters, periodicals or advertising. Traditionally this was done through the postal system, but with the rise of e-mail
E-mail

Electronic mail, often abbreviated as e-mail, email, E-Mail, or eMail, is any method of creating, transmitting, or storing primarily text-based human communications with digital communications systems....
, the electronic mailing list
Electronic mailing list

An electronic mailing list is a special usage of electronic mail that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users....
 became popular. The second type allows members to post their own items which are broadcast to all of the other mailing list members. This second category is usually known as a discussion list.

More definitions

When similar or identical material is sent out to all subscribers on a mailing list, it is often referred to as a mailshot
Mailshot

Mailshots are bulk mail advertising sent through the mail in the United Kingdom to potential customers to advertise goods or services. They can be "warm", meaning that they are more specialized, or "cold", similar to the weekly grocery store ads that arrive in mail-boxes once a week....
 or blast. A list for such use can also be referred to as a distribution list
Distribution list

Distribution list is a term sometimes used for a function of email clients where lists of email addresses are used to email everyone on the list at once....
.

In legitimate (non-spam
E-mail spam

E-mail spam, also known as junk e-mail, is a subset of spam that involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail....
) mailing lists, individuals can subscribe or unsubscribe themselves.

Mailing lists are often rented or sold. If rented, the renter agrees to use the mailing list for only contractually agreed-upon times. The mailing list owner typically enforces this by "salting
Fictitious entry

Fictitious entries, also known as fake entries, Mountweazels, and Nihilartikels, are deliberately incorrect entries or articles in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps and directories....
" the mailing list with fake addresses and creating new salts for each time the list is rented. Unscrupulous renters may attempt to bypass salts by renting several lists and merging them to find the common, valid addresses.

Mailing list brokers
List broker

A list broker acts as an agent for those who wish to conduct direct marketing campaigns via direct mail, email or telemarketing. List brokers provide lists that, minimally, contain a prospect's name and contact information....
 exist to help organizations rent their lists. For some organizations, such as specialized niche publications or charitable groups, their lists may be some of their most valuable assets, and mailing list brokers help them maximize the value of their lists.

A mailing list is simply a list of e-mail addresses of people that are interested in the same subject, are members of the same work group, or who are taking class together. When a member of the list sends a note to the group's special address, the e-mail is broadcast to all of the members of the list. The key advantage of a mailing list over a things such as web-based discussion is that as new message becomes available they are immediately delivered to the participants' mailboxes.

Reliable list brokers can be found through most mail order/direct marketing associations.

Listwashing


Listwashing is the process through which individual entries in mailing list
Mailing list

A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the list"....
s are removed. These mailing lists typically contain e-mail
E-mail

Electronic mail, often abbreviated as e-mail, email, E-Mail, or eMail, is any method of creating, transmitting, or storing primarily text-based human communications with digital communications systems....
 addresses or phone numbers of those that have not voluntarily subscribed. An entry is removed from the list after a complaint is received.

Only complainers are removed via this process. It is widely believed that only a small fraction of those inconvenienced with unsolicited email end up sending a proper complaint. Because most of those that have not voluntarily subscribed stay on the list, and only the complainers stop complaining because they are removed, this helps spam
Spam (electronic)

Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: Messaging spam, Newsgroup spam, spamdexing, spam in blogs, wiki spam, Classified advertising spam, mobile phone spam, Forum...
mers to maintain a "complaint-free" list of spammable e-mail
E-mail

Electronic mail, often abbreviated as e-mail, email, E-Mail, or eMail, is any method of creating, transmitting, or storing primarily text-based human communications with digital communications systems....
 addresses. Internet service provider
Internet service provider

An Internet service provider is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects....
s who forward complaints to the spamming party are often seen as assisting the spam
Spam (electronic)

Spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately. While the most widely recognized form of spam is e-mail spam, the term is applied to similar abuses in other media: Messaging spam, Newsgroup spam, spamdexing, spam in blogs, wiki spam, Classified advertising spam, mobile phone spam, Forum...
mer in list washing, or, in short, helping spammers.

See also

  • Direct marketing
    Direct marketing

    Direct marketing is a sub-discipline and type of marketing. There are two main definitional characteristics which distinguish it from other types of marketing....
  • Distribution list
    Distribution list

    Distribution list is a term sometimes used for a function of email clients where lists of email addresses are used to email everyone on the list at once....
  • Electronic mailing list
    Electronic mailing list

    An electronic mailing list is a special usage of electronic mail that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users....
  • Netiquette
    Netiquette

    Netiquette, a Portmanteau word of "computer network etiquette", is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and Internet forum....
  • Newsletter
    Newsletter

    A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and pamphlets are types of newsletters....
  • Usenet
    Usenet

    Usenet, a portmanteau of "user" and "network", is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It evolved from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name....
  • Linux kernel mailing list
    Linux kernel mailing list

    The Linux kernel mailing list is the main electronic mailing list for Linux kernel development, where majority of the announcements, discussions, debates, and flame wars over the kernel take place....