Do I need a 'listserv' or a 'distribution list/group'?

Owned by Gilbert, Samuel Z - (szgilbert)
Nov 21, 2023
2 min read

At times, we find ourselves having to send e-mails to the same group of people, or maybe a new team/committee has formed and it would be helpful to be able to quickly communicate with them without having to enter everyone's e-mail address.  Alternatively, you might have a program or project that needs a general e-mail address that solicits questions from the public and is distributed to a few program/project coordinators.  There are several options available within the University of Arizona system to accomplish this.

First, a quick definition.  Listservs and Distribution Lists/Groups, used interchangeably, are both essentially the same process to perform the same function:  allow a sender to send one e-mail to the list which is then sent to every subscriber or member of that list.  Both would need to be set up by your IT support person.  You can see below who to contact for help in getting these set up.

There are also several new cloud-based software platforms that have been developed as "Microsoft Teams" so that the groups can instantly communicate with each other and share resources - but these would need a separate article to explain.  

To better answer the question, you should consider the following:

  • Do any of your recipients have a non @arizona.edu address?
  • Do you need a web-based archive of posts?

If you answered “YES” to either, then you should use a listserv. Your options are:

  1.  CALS-Hosted list Mailman
    1. Reach out to CCT for support in developing
  2. UITS-Hosted list Sympa
    1. Go to list.arizona.edu and log in to develop


If you answered “NO” to both, then you should use a:

  1. Distribution Group
  2. Office 365 Team: comes with
    1. Distribution Group
    2. Shared Calendar
    3. Online File Share (Sharepoint/OneDrive)
    4. Ability to edit MS Office documents simultaneously (through Desktop or Web-based)
    5. Persistent Chat Channel
    6. Mobile App to access Chat Channel, Storage, Calendar, Messages


Hopefully this helps to provide guidance on developing a listserv or distribution list/group.  Please leave a comment if you have further inquiries or have more input this article did not address.