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Spotlights

MailServ (Email) Lists

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to establish the rules for obtaining, and use of, mailing lists at Western Michigan University.

Policy Statement(s)

These are the current options for mailing lists at Western Michigan University. Questions may be directed to

MailServ

• Must be University-related
• Must be sponsored by WMU faculty or staff member
• Membership is not limited to WMU
• Expected traffic levels should be moderate
• Name is in format of LIST-L@listserv.cc.wmich.edu
• Messages can be archived for long term retention
• Can be moderated or members only; no public lists allowed
• Members get a welcome message automatically when they join
• Interface is commands in an email message, or editing files on VMS
• Users may self-join

LDAP Groups

• Must be University-related
• Must be sponsored by WMU faculty or staff member
• Membership is not limited to WMU
• Expected traffic levels should be moderate
• Name is in format of dept-group@wmich.edu
• Messages cannot be archived
• Can be moderated or members only
• Interface is via Web site
• Members cannot self join

GoWMU Groups

• For WMU members only (student, faculty, staff, or affiliate)
• May be sponsored by student, faculty or staff

One-time Mailing Lists

• Generated for a specific purpose
• Takes approximately four hours to add into the mail system
• Must be sponsored by faculty or staff
• Generally usable for only a few days

Definitions

MailServ mailing lists allow members to subscribe or unsubscribe to the list at any time. They are useful for lists that send out regular updates.

LDAP groups are created within the WMU Enterprise Directory which defines which roles are assigned to students, faculty and staff.

GoWMU groups are a community of people with common interests created within the GoWMU portal. Once a group is created, its members can then post messages, send group announcements, send group emails, chat, share files, and even share photos.

One-time lists are created and used once, for a specific purpose.

Justification

Mailing lists are a way to communicate with a number of people by use of a single email address. Whenever someone sends a message to a mailing list address, that message goes out to everyone subscribed to or a member of the list.

Enforcement

Individuals utilizing WMU mailing lists shall abide by the rules of this policy and shall not violate WMU's Mass email/CAN-SPAM policy. Any person found to be in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action as defined by current University policy.

Reference

• Email Address Use and Rules
• Email Rules
• Mass Email Standards
• Rules For Use of Computing Resources

Revised 6/2008