When you add people to your list, send them a short welcome note so they know what they have joined and why it is different from a normal email list. Below is a template you can copy into an email and edit. Sections marked [OPTIONAL] describe features you may or may not have enabled - delete the ones that do not apply to your list. Check your settings on the admin page if you are not sure.
Subject: Welcome to
Hi everyone,
You have been added to , our group email list. To send a
message to the whole group, just email:
<listname@domain>
You do not need an app, an account, or a password. It is just email.
A few things that make this list different from a normal email chain:
Your email address stays private. Messages you send arrive showing
only the display name the list has for you - never your email address.
(Prefer a nickname? Just ask
You are protected from hidden tracking. Every message is checked for viruses, dangerous links, and the invisible trackers that commercial email uses to watch when and where you read. All of that is removed before the message reaches you. If you see a note at the bottom of an email listing things that were removed, that is the protection working.
Reply means reply-to-everyone. When you reply to a list message, your reply goes to the whole group. If you only mean to answer one person, check the address line before you send.
[OPTIONAL - delete if direct messages are disabled] You can message one person privately. Every member has a private address in the form ~theirname.listname@domain. Email that address and only that person receives it - and neither of you sees the other’s real address. To get the member directory - everyone’s private address and which sub-groups they belong to - send an email to addressbook.listname@domain and you will receive it by reply.
[OPTIONAL - delete if your list has no sublists]
Some topics have their own address. This list has sub-groups - for
example
[OPTIONAL - delete if VPE / external senders are disabled] Sometimes outsiders write to the group. People who are not members can send email to this list. Their messages are marked External so you always know. You can reply to them normally - your real address stays hidden; they only ever see the list’s address.
[OPTIONAL but recommended - edit to fit your group] How we use this list. This list is for <describe the list’s purpose - e.g., neighborhood announcements and discussion>. A few ground rules that keep it pleasant for everyone:
- Reply to the group only when the whole group benefits; otherwise reply privately to the sender.
- Keep it on topic -
. - Disagree with ideas, not people.
- When in doubt, ask
first.
Questions about the list? Email the admins directly at admin.listname@domain - this reaches only the list admins, not the whole group. Want to stop receiving messages? Use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any list email, or contact the admins at that same address.
That is the whole template. Two editing tips: keep it short - the goal is that members understand the list is safe and know how to use it, not that they learn every feature on day one. And send it from the list itself, so the first thing members experience is a message arriving the way all future messages will.