An automatic mailing system available on the Internet.
Rather than sending e-mail on a particular topic to a long list of people, you send it to a special e-mail address, where a program automatically distributes the e-mail to all the people who subscribe to the mailing list.
Several programs have been written to automate a mailing list; the most common is called LISTSERV, but you may also encounter mailserv, majordomo, or almanac.
Mailing lists are usually devoted to a specific subject, such as training dogs or playing obscure types of bagpipes, rather than to general interest communications.
See also LISTSERV; mailing list; newsgroup; Usenet.