- get help on how the program works
- find out what mailing lists are using that mailing list server
- subscribe and unsubscribe from individual lists
- post messages to a list (which are posted to everyone on the list)
- get information on who is subscribed to the mailing list, or statistics or list usage.
What are mailing list servers and what are their functions?
Mailing list servers, run at specific sites, are in charge of controlling mailing lists operated from the same sites. Due to mail lists being run from particular hosts, the addresses take the form of mailinglistname@host name, thus the address of the server takes the general form of mailing list server@hostname.Different mailing list servers have different names and there are different versions of software, but they all work on the basis of a distinction between messages received that are concerned with subscription, and messages received that are to go out on particular lists. This is basically the difference between messages to the list name and messages to the control or subscription address. To interface with a mailing list server you must send commands with the correct syntax to the address of the mailng list server: the control address.
Functions Of Mailing List Servers
All the mailing list programs allow you, purely by using email, to: