lists.strath.ac.uk

This machine hosts the mailing lists service, lists.strath.ac.uk.

Which lists are available?

See here to find out which mailing lists are available, and to subscribe.

Please note that only lists that are set to be advertised are shown. There will be other lists that are not advertised.

Where do I go to administer a list

If you are a list owner, then you can administer the settings for your list by visiting:

http://lists.strath.ac.uk/mailman/admin/yourlistname

replacing yourlistname with the name of your list. You may find it convenient to add the address to your bookmarks/favourites.

Why should I use this service, rather than a distribution list in my mail client's address book facility?

There are a number of reasons, here are some of them:

1. End-user mail clients are often not very good at handling large contact lists. The mailing list service is designed specifically for this task.
2. Often, only the owner of the mail client can send to the list, from their own PC or network login. With the mailing list service, nominated persons can be authorised to send to the list from their own email address.
3. Depending on how the contact list is stored, you may have no backup if there is a disaster. The mailing list service keeps the list membership and list information securely separate from your PC.
4. The sender of a message to a distribution list will commonly be inundated with message delay warnings, message failures, and other bounces, which all have to be handled in some way. The mailing list service can automatically handle certain types of bounces (and in severe cases where an address is repeatedly failing, can automatically unsubscribe the address concerned), and directs other messages to the list owner for handling, rather than the sender of the message.
5. The mailing list service can provide different sorts of lists, such as announcement-only lists and discussion lists.
6. The mailing list service can maintain a web-based archive of messages posted to the list, which can be readily consulted by members.
7. The mailing list service provides a web-based interface that allows list members to alter settings relating to their membership, including the option of unsubscribing from the list. Allowing people to easily remove themselves from a list is essential in order to help prevent accusations of being spammed. It also facilates people being able to easily request subscription to be a list.
8. Outgoing messages from desktop mail clients and NEMO are rate-limted per-sender to a certain number over a certain amount of time. After the rate is reached, no more messages are accepted - they remain on the outbound queue and will trickle out as the rate calculation permits. (There are various reasons for the rate-limiting, which are not discussed here).

Note that if you wish to send to a defined criteria-based cohort of the University, for example, "all 3rd year students in XYZ department", then you will probably be better off with some of the bulk mailing facilities in Pegasus. Contact the Information Services Helpdesk at McCance for more guidance.

Can you set up a mailing list for me please?

Information Services will set up lists for purposes and projects connected with the Un iversity. We would not normally accomodate private or personal projects. Student clubs and societies may wish to use the facilities provided by the Students Association.

You can request make the request via this form in FreshService.

You will need to supply at least the following information:

• Your name and contact details
• Details on the usage of the list (announcements, discussion, ...)
• A paragraph or two to describe the list and how it will be used
• Should the list be advertised on the Mailman lists page (
• Subscription policy - can anyone subscribe? should the list-owner have to "approve" subscription requests?
• Should list archives be kept, and should they be public or private?
• Who can post to the list - any member or just the moderators?
• If they are required, who will the moderators be?

Most people want either an list for announcements relating to a project/event/etc, where a limited number of people are able to post to the list membership, or else they want a discussion list, where most or all list members are able to post to the list.

List Address Formats

While each one is considered on its own merits, in general there are some well-established patterns for the format of some list addresses. All have an address ending in @lists.strath.ac.uk. The first part will often include some form of departmental identifier or context, and then a suffix to suggest the usage of the list:

Discussion lists

something-discuss

Chat lists (less formal than a discussion

something-chat

Announce lists

something-announce

Events list

something2017-conf or something-conf2017