The superlist/sub-lists structure is used to organise a group or 'family' of lists within a broad subject area. At the head of the family is the superlist, usually identified by the suffix -all. There would normally be at least two sub-lists in a group. Most superlists have 4-10 sub-lists, though one superlist has over 80!

Uses

Each of the sub-lists would be narrowly targetted to ensure that members only receive information relevant to their subject area. Information of general interest would be sent to the superlist, to avoid having to cross-post to a number of lists. The superlist is intended to be used infrequently for announcements about conferences, meetings, new files or a new list in the group etc.

How superlists and sub-lists work

A message sent to a superlist is automatically sent out to sub-list members and members receive only one copy of the message, regardless of the number of sub-lists they belong to.

How to join

You don't need to join a superlist. When you join a sub-list, you automatically become a member of the superlist. If you leave all the sub-lists in a group, you might wish, however, to manually join the superlist to keep in touch with group activities.

Superlist/sub-list structure

Here is an example of the superlist/sub-list structure (list names are fictitious) taken from the Mailbase Owner Guide.

                                 libs-all

                                     |

     ________________________________________________________

     |               |                   |                  |

libs-ctee        libs-ill            libs-liaison       libs-rarebooks
                                              

• libs-all Superlist for the Library Services Group
• libs-cttee Closed (private) list for a committee
• libs-ill Discussion on InterLibrary Loans and document delivery
• libs-liaison Public list for news and general discussion
• libs-rarebooks Discussion on the management of rare books

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