What is a mailing list?

It is possible to maintain a list of the recipients and a list of the persons allowed to write messages: when one of the allowed senders sends a message to the virtual user that represents the entire list, the system queues mail for every recipient.

Moreover, all the messages can be archived and published as web pages.

It is possible to maintain "closed" lists, where the customer decides who is allowed to read and write, and "open" lists, where everybody can register on the list and read/write messages.

An open list can be useful as a support for a given product, and maybe as a carrier for advertisements (every message can befollowed by a sort message like "This public mailing list is offered by..." in a public utility list (i.e.: a list for exchanging cooking recipes).

A closed list can be used for a reserved customer service.