Distribution list and room mailbox: two addresses that belong to no single person.

What is a distribution list?

A distribution list is one address with several recipients behind it. A message to team@ arrives in each member's own mailbox. The list itself stores nothing.

Centrally managed lists are maintained by IT, not by individuals. When someone joins or leaves the team, the list changes in one place and applies to everyone at once.

Using a list in Outlook

Central distribution lists are in the address book and can be entered like any address:

1. 1Open a new message and choose To.
2. 2Search for the list name in the address book and select it.
3. 3The plus sign before the name expands the list into its members, so you can remove individual ones.

Distribution list or shared mailbox?

A distribution list informs, a shared mailbox handles. If the point is that everyone learns something, the list is right.

If a request has to be answered by exactly one person, a list leads to duplicate replies or none at all. Then the address belongs on a shared mailbox.

What is a room mailbox?

A room mailbox stands for a meeting room. Whoever plans a meeting invites the room like a person. If it is free it accepts the invitation, otherwise it declines.

The same principle applies to equipment such as projectors or vehicles. Several rooms can be grouped into a room list, for example per site.

Booking a room

Booking goes through the calendar:

1. 1Create a new appointment in the calendar and add the attendees.
2. 2Add the room as another attendee or through the room picker.
3. 3Check the free/busy view and send the invitation. The room's acceptance arrives as a reply.