isr.co.ro : glossary Mailing List Most generally, a manually or automatically generated list of e-mail addresses to which you can send messages. Just about all e-mail programs can replicate a single message to such a list, providing that the list is formatted the way the program expects. Particularly on the Internet, a group of users who have indicated to a list "owner" a desire to receive messages about a particular topic. Messages sent to the group are replicated and sent to all members of the list (or at least, those approved by the list owner if the list is "moderated."). Historically, mailing lists became popular because e-mail was the only information service many users could access. But many larger lists were eventually replaced with Usenet newsgroups. Now, lists are used principally for more specialized topics, for closed groups, and for promotional communications, in which you don't want to wait for the recipient to come to you.