ListServ email lists are excellent for streamlining communication, or emailing multiple addresses simultaneously without hitting server recipient limits. For example:

• If you are a faculty member, you might prefer to email assignments and other information to all of your students at once, and without the need for BCCs.
• If you are a president of a recognized student organization, you might wish to communicate with your fellow members.
• A department head or assistant might wish to send email to their colleagues, or to students majoring in that department's subject(s).

Before Requesting a List

• Be prepared to manage your list. A list owner reviews and adds or deletes subscriptions on the list, among other functions. List owners are responsible for the content of the mailings, which must conform to the Acceptable Use Policy. See the List Manager's Survival Guide for more information.
  
• Consider how you will obtain addresses to subscribe. IT does not provide addresses for these lists, so list owners might choose to gather addresses via sign-up sheets, social media, Hyperion, or requests made to Drexel database personnel.
• Consider the number and stability of your subscriber base. A list might not be appropriate for five subscribers, but would be indispensable for five hundred. A large, dynamic list (e.g. an open discussion list) will require more attention to list management than a small, static one (e.g. class lists for faculty).

Pros and Cons of Lists

Pros

• Lists have no recipient limit.
• You can send messages to one address, instead of hundreds.
• No approval is needed to send messages.
• List settings can be customized to meet specific needs.
• You can restrict or open subscription/unsubscription as necessary.

Cons

• List owners must learn to manage their lists.
• Email addresses for the list must be obtained outside of IT.
• Lists do not automatically update their subscriptions (exceptions apply).