Exchange Distribution Lists

A distribution list is a group that receives an email address. Messages sent to this email address are delivered to everyone in the group.

Use a distribution list to send an email to multiple people—a project team, a committee, or a group of colleagues—without having to add each name individually to the To, CC, or BCC field.

A distribution list can be requested for Exchange in the following way:

Please fill out the Excel spreadsheet Distribution List Request. Instructions on how to fill out the spreadsheet are included in the Excel spreadsheet.

Send the completed Excel spreadsheet as an attachment by email to rrz-serviceline"AT"uni-hamburg.de and enter Distribution List Request in the subject line.

Note:

Only members (user mailbox/group mailbox/other distribution lists/Exchange contacts) who also have a mailbox on the university Exchange system or who are set up on the Exchange system can be entered in Exchange distribution lists. External email addresses cannot be added! Please use a Mailman mailing list for external email addresses.

You can maintain your distribution lists yourself!

To do so, please go to the RRZ Self-Service Portal under “Workplace,” “My Mailing Lists,” “Exchange,” or follow this link.

There you will see the distribution lists to which you have rights as owner or editor.

Note: You will need an active VPN connection in your home office to do this.

The structure/nesting of Exchange distribution lists

For distribution lists, we envision a hierarchical structure corresponding to the department's organizational chart.

This means, for example, the distribution list of the teams at the lowest level. All employees of the team are members of this distribution list. If necessary, functional mailboxes can also be members.

Above that is the distribution list of the department. Members of this distribution list are the distribution lists of the subordinate teams and, if applicable, other persons or functional mailboxes that are not directly assigned to the teams.

Above that are the distribution lists of the departments or staff units. Members of these distribution lists are the distribution lists of the subordinate divisions and, if applicable, other persons or functional mailboxes that are not directly assigned to the divisions.

Thus, a distribution list can consist of individuals, group/functional mailboxes, or other subordinate distribution lists or distribution lists at the same level.

Of course, it is also possible to request distribution lists that are not based on the organizational chart because they do not fit into the organizational chart scheme, e.g., all team leaders or all division heads.

The arrows in the figure symbolize what a distribution list can contain and that a higher-level distribution list cannot be contained in a subordinate distribution list.

The naming scheme is generic:

[Organizational unit], [VL ][Sub-organizational unit][-Desired name]

Examples:

RRZ, VL BIN-SDBM-Mail

WiSo, VL Bibliothek-SoWi

PV, VL Abt4-Teamleitungen

The display names of Department 8 therefore always have the prefix, e.g., “PV, VL Abt8-” in the UHH Exchange address book. After this prefix, you can freely choose the name of the distribution lists.