IT receives requests from time to time to provide electronic mailing lists for distributing electronic mail messages to all or part of the DU community. IT does not provide bulk mail lists for all network accounts at the university or for selected large segments of the population, such as all students, all staff or all faculty.
Why we don't provide for bulk mailing
There are several reasons, technical and non-technical for not providing bulk mailing lists.
- The majority of regular e-mail users would prefer not to receive unsolicited mailings due to the volume of mail they already receive.
- There are more efficient and less intrusive methods for delivering information to a wide audience (see below.)
- Improper or unauthorized use of bulk mailing lists or sending the same email to hundreds of individual email addresses can result in the university being blocked from sending email through certain systems. This is known as "spamming". (Spamming is the sending of large amounts of unsolicited e-mail.)
Suggestions for distributing information to wide audiences:
IT provides a number of ways for you to publish information to a wide audience through electronic means.
- Electronic Mailing Lists. These lists are intended for groups such as all the faculty in a department, members of a committee, members of a discussion group related to a specific topic or similar groups. Mailing lists have a number of options, including allowing list members or potential members to subscribe or unsubscribe themselves.
- Internal News and Group Messaging. The Office of Marketing and Communication publishes news items to sections of the university population on a regular basis. Contact the Office of Marketing and Communication to inquire about including your announcement in one of the already existing publications, or to inquire about creating a special one-time announcement.
- Campus Calendars. Calendars are maintained by a number of departments and are a very convenient way to provide information about events. You can view DU Calendar at https://www.du.edu/calendar/index.html.
- Web Pages. Create a Web page for your information or event then request links to the page from other pertinent pages on the DU site. Please be advised that most pages are maintained within the various academic or business units of the university. Contact the unit directly to request a link.
Exceptions
On rare occasions, email may be the best mechanism to distribute information to large segments of the University community. Please refer to the Bulk Email section of Acceptable Use Policy for Computer and Network Systems.
Last updated January 21, 2016