Using RHS All-Team-Member Distribution Lists

Summary

Sending email to large groups via the RHS "All Team Member" distribution lists.

Body

Overview

Need an efficient way to email messages to everyone in a unit, a department or the division?
Consider using a distribution list. The division of Residential and Hospitality Services (RHS) has “all team member” distribution lists (DLs) for Spartan Mail (available in Outlook). These are convenient communication tools for appropriate and approved messages. Roughly based on the divisional org structure, there are - DLs for each department and sub-department (major unit) in the division. All list names follow a clear naming convention, beginning with “RHS” followed by the department acronym, then sub-department name (if applicable). Senders can use the lists for emailing all team members or a segment of all team members. For example, each department and sub-department will have five lists. 

  1. All team members (includes all below members)
  2. All full-time team members
  3. All temporary team members
  4. All on-call team members
  5. All student team members

What are distribution lists?

Distribution lists allow someone to send an email to one address and it will be distributed to the inboxes of any members of the list. For more information about distribution lists and how they differ from listservs and shared mailboxes, see this knowledge base article: Understanding Distribution Lists, Listservs, Shared Mailboxes, Shared Calendars and Other Resources.

Full listing of divisional "all team" distribution lists

For easy reference of all distribution lists, please see the list below. The larger, department, lists (in bold font) require a moderator's approval before a message will reach the audience. See instructions for finding and using these lists, later in this article. 

 

Display Name All Team Members Display Name FullTime Display Name OnCall Display Name Students Display Name Temp Notes
RHS All TeamMembers - DL RHS All FullTime - DL RHS All OnCall - DL RHS All Students - DL RHS All Temp - DL Entire division
RHS ASG All TeamMembers - DL RHS ASG All FullTime - DL RHS ASG All OnCall - DL RHS ASG All Students - DL RHS ASG All Temp - DL Auxiliary Sports Group
RHS ASG ASG.Admin All TeamMembers - DL RHS ASG ASG.Admin All FullTime - DL RHS ASG ASG.Admin All OnCall - DL RHS ASG ASG.Admin All Students - DL RHS ASG ASG.Admin All Temp - DL  
RHS ASG Golf All TeamMembers - DL RHS ASG Golf All FullTime - DL RHS ASG Golf All OnCall - DL RHS ASG Golf All Students - DL RHS ASG Golf All Temp - DL  
RHS ASG Tennis All TeamMembers - DL RHS ASG Tennis All FullTime - DL RHS ASG Tennis All OnCall - DL RHS ASG Tennis All Students - DL RHS ASG Tennis All Temp - DL  
RHS ASG RecSports All TeamMembers - DL RHS ASG RecSports All FullTime - DL RHS ASG RecSports All OnCall - DL RHS ASG RecSports All Students - DL RHS ASG RecSports All Temp - DL  
RHS ASG SSS All TeamMembers - DL RHS ASG SSS All FullTime - DL RHS ASG SSS All OnCall - DL RHS ASG SSS All Students - DL RHS ASG SSS All Temp - DL Spartan Spirit Shops
RHS CS All TeamMembers - DL RHS CS All FullTime - DL RHS CS All OnCall - DL RHS CS All Students - DL RHS CS All Temp - DL Culinary Services
RHS CS CS.Admin All TeamMembers - DL RHS CS CS.Admin All FullTime - DL RHS CS CS.Admin All OnCall - DL RHS CS CS.Admin All Students - DL RHS CS CS.Admin All Temp - DL  
RHS CS Dining All TeamMembers - DL RHS CS Dining All FullTime - DL RHS CS Dining All OnCall - DL RHS CS Dining All Students - DL RHS CS Dining All Temp - DL  
RHS CS KC All TeamMembers - DL RHS CS KC All FullTime - DL RHS CS KC All OnCall - DL RHS CS KC All Students - DL RHS CS KC All Temp - DL Kellogg Center
RHS CS Retail All TeamMembers - DL RHS CS Retail All FullTime - DL RHS CS Retail All OnCall - DL RHS CS Retail All Students - DL RHS CS Retail All Temp - DL  
RHS CS CSSS All TeamMembers - DL RHS CS CSSS All FullTime - DL RHS CS CSSS All OnCall - DL RHS CS CSSS All Students - DL RHS CS CSSS All Temp - DL Culinary Services Support Services
RHS REHS All TeamMembers - DL RHS REHS All FullTime - DL RHS REHS All OnCall - DL RHS REHS All Students - DL RHS REHS All Temp - DL Residence Education and Housing Services
RHS REHS REHS.Admin All TeamMembers - DL RHS REHS REHS.Admin All FullTime - DL RHS REHS REHS.Admin All OnCall - DL RHS REHS REHS.Admin All Students - DL RHS REHS REHS.Admin All Temp - DL Previously REHS Central Admin
RHS REHS REHS.Adm.Svsc All TeamMembers - DL RHS REHS REHS.Adm.Svsc All FullTime - DL RHS REHS REHS.Adm.Svsc All OnCall - DL RHS REHS REHS.Adm.Svsc All Students - DL RHS REHS REHS.Adm.Svsc All Temp - DL  
RHS REHS Facilities All TeamMembers - DL RHS REHS Facilities All FullTime - DL RHS REHS Facilities All OnCall - DL RHS REHS Facilities All Students - DL RHS REHS Facilities All Temp - DL  
RHS REHS Res.Ed All TeamMembers - DL RHS REHS Res.Ed All FullTime - DL RHS REHS Res.Ed All OnCall - DL RHS REHS Res.Ed All Students - DL RHS REHS Res.Ed All Temp - DL Residence Education
RHS REHS Apts All TeamMembers - DL RHS REHS Apts All FullTime - DL RHS REHS Apts All OnCall - DL RHS REHS Apts All Students - DL RHS REHS Apts All Temp - DL Apartments
RHS AO All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO All FullTime - DL RHS AO All OnCall - DL RHS AO All Students - DL RHS AO All Temp - DL Administrative Opeartions
RHS AO BFS All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO BFS All FullTime - DL RHS AO BFS All OnCall - DL RHS AO BFS All Students - DL RHS AO BFS All Temp - DL Business and Financial Services
RHS AO COMM All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO COMM All FullTime - DL RHS AO COMM All OnCall - DL RHS AO COMM All Students - DL RHS AO COMM All Temp - DL Strategic Communication
RHS AO COS All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO COS All FullTime - DL RHS AO COS All OnCall - DL RHS AO COS All Students - DL RHS AO COS All Temp - DL Chief of Staff unit
RHS AO LEA All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO LEA All FullTime - DL RHS AO LEA All OnCall - DL RHS AO LEA All Student - DL RHS AO LEA All Temp - DL Lean Enterprise and Assessment
RHS AO DSS All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO DSS All FullTime - DL RHS AO DSS All OnCall - DL RHS AO DSS All Students - DL RHS AO DSS All Temp - DL Digital Strategies and Services
RHS AO HR All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO HR All FullTime - DL RHS AO HR All OnCall - DL RHS AO HR All Students - DL RHS AO HR All Temp - DL Human Resources
RHS AO PPO All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO PPO All FullTime - DL RHS AO PPO All OnCall - DL RHS AO PPO All Students - DL RHS AO PPO All Temp - DL Projects and Planning Office
RHS AO AO.Admin All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO AO.Admin All FullTime - DL RHS AO AO.Admin All OnCall - DL RHS AO AO.Admin All Students - DL RHS AO AO.Admin All Temp - DL AO Admin office formerly SVP Admin
RHS AO Licensing All TeamMembers - DL RHS AO Licensing All FullTime - DL   RHS AO Licensing All Students - DL    

List policies and etiquette

Please use caution when sending to the - DLs (especially those that include student team members). All senders should adhere to applicable Residential and Hospitality Services policies (available on MyRHS) related to Bulk Email. The policies include such guidelines as:

  • Check with your brand manager: All bulk emails being sent to division-wide distribution lists should be vetted by the RHS communications professional that represents the department or unit for clarity, grammar and appropriateness. Once vetted, the message can then be sent through the email system to be approved (division- and department-wide lists are moderated).
  • The sender of the message should put their own name (or the name of the shared mailbox they are sending from) in the To: field and the distribution list names in the BCC: field in order to prevent “reply all’ messages.
  • Since you are putting the recipient lists in the BCC field, preface the body of the email with some information about to whom it was sent. This is so recipients know if they need to foward it to others.
  • Please follow all divisional style guidelines including email signatures.
  • Subject lines should be reflective of the content of the message. For instance, an invitation to a divisional event should read, “You’re Invited” or “Invitation.”

List maintenance

The lists will be kept up to date by the Digital Strategies and Services Access Management team, based on employee access requests and bi-weekly Human Resources reports when team members are hired or terminated.

Sending to a distribution list using Classic Outlook desktop application

To send a message to a - DL:

  1. Open Outlook.
  2. From the Home tab, select New Email. 
    Screenshot of described step 2.
    1. If you are sending from a shared mailbox, select that mailbox in the From field.
    2. If you don't see the From field, select the Options tab, then From.
  3. Put your own name or email address (or that of the shared mailbox) in the To field.
  4. Select the BCC button.
    1. If you do not see a BCC button, select the Options tab in the menu, then select BCC to reveal the BCC button.
    2. Select the BCC button.
  5. In the Address Book drop-down field, select All Distribution Lists.
  6. In the Search field, type RHS
  7. Select the forward arrow to search.
    Screenshot of steps 5, 6 and 7 as described in text.
  8. All matches/search results display. Double-click the list(s) you wish to include. They will be added in the BCC field.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Continue to draft and send your message.
  11. If you send to a list or lists protected by moderation, you may see alerts to that effect, and a moderator will have to approve your message before it is delivered.

 

Sending to a distribution list from New Outlook

  1. Open the New Outlook.
    1. If you are sending from a shared mailbox, navigate to that mailbox's Inbox and select it..
  2. From the Home tab, select New.
  3. Next to the Send button it should show your name or the shared mailbox information. To change it, select the drop-down arrow. This is your From address.
  4. In the To field, select your name or email address (or that of the shared mailbox you are sending from). This prevents recipients from replying to ALL and needlessly copying others.
  5. Select the BCC button.
    Screenshot of steps 3, 4 and 5 as described in text.
  6. Along the left side menu, select All Distribution Lists.
  7. In the Search my contacts field, start typing what you know of the distribution list name (e.g., RHS). All lists will start with RHS and will have a department acronym followed by the unit name and the employee type (as described in the table above).
    1. All matches/search results display
  8. Find and select the check box(es) to the left of the list(s) you want to send to. 
  9. Select Save. 
    Screenshot of steps 6-9 as described in text.
  10. The distribution lists appear in the BCC field of the email.
  11. Continue to draft and send your message. It is helpful to include a sentence about to whom the message is being sent so recipients know whether to forward it.
  12. If you are sending to a moderated list you will get notices to that effect, and it must be approved.

Sending to a distribution list from Spartan Mail on the web

  1. In a web browser, navigate to spartanmail.msu.edu and log in.
  2. Follow all the steps listed in the section above for Sending to a distribution list from the New Outlook. 

Details

Details

Article ID: 155330
Created
Mon 5/1/23 11:36 AM
Modified
Thu 9/24/26 8:58 AM

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