Create and manage mailing lists in DirectAdmin

A mailing list lets one email address reach a group: a team, a club or a class. When someone writes to team@example.com, every member receives the message, and replies can go back to the whole list. DirectAdmin includes mailing list management (based on Majordomo) for small groups.

Before you start

• Your package must allow mailing lists.
• The domain's mail must be hosted on the DirectAdmin server.
• Member addresses must have agreed to receive the list – unsolicited bulk mail damages the server's reputation and may break your host's terms.

Create a list

1. Select the domain at the top.
2. Go to E-Mail Manager → Mailing Lists.
3. Click Create Mailing List.
4. Enter the list name, for example team. The list address becomes team@example.com.
5. Click Create.

Add members

1. Click the list name, then Add Members (or Subscribe).
2. Paste one address per line.
3. Choose Normal (each message as it is sent) or Digest (messages bundled into a periodic summary).
4. Save.

Remove members by ticking them and clicking Remove. Members can usually also subscribe and unsubscribe by email commands sent to the list's request address.

List settings

Open Settings (or Edit List) to control behaviour:

• Who can post: restrict posting to members, or to moderators only for announcement lists. Open lists attract spam quickly.
• Moderation: require approval of posts by the list owner.
• Reply-To: replies to the list or to the sender.
• Subject prefix such as [team] so members can filter messages.
• Maximum message size to stop large attachments.

When to use something else

DirectAdmin mailing lists suit small, internal groups. For marketing newsletters to customers, use a dedicated email marketing service: it handles double opt-in, unsubscribe links, bounce processing and good sending reputation, and it does not risk your hosting server's IP. Many hosts limit the number of emails per hour per account, which large lists quickly exceed.

Alternatives inside DirectAdmin

• For a few recipients, a forwarder to several addresses is simpler; see forwarders and autoresponders.
• For a shared inbox, create one mailbox and give the password to the team, using IMAP so everyone sees the same folders.

Troubleshooting

• Members do not receive messages: the post was held for moderation, the sender is not allowed to post, or sending limits were reached.
• Messages marked as spam at recipients: configure SPF, DKIM and DMARC; see DKIM, SPF and DMARC.
• Mailing Lists menu missing: not included in your package.

Next steps

• Email accounts.
• Mail queue troubleshooting.
• DNS records.