The purpose is to make necessary and immediate communication to large IMSA constituencies efficient and timely. However, small involuntary, moderated lists may be created for IMSA organizations that decide to make participation in the list a requirement for membership, such as Student Council. These lists are always closely moderated for content and appropriateness of the messages sent. Voluntary, moderated lists most often serve as a means of communication for organizations that do not wish to set a specific membership criteria. They require an administrator to be responsible for both approving messages and insuring that membership is purely voluntary.
Voluntary lists have a membership based on the preferences of members.
If any student does not want to receive such information, he or she may terminate membership at any point by sending a command directly to majordomo, or notifying the administrator. Administrators must provide prospective members with the appropriate commands for joining or withdrawing from a list. Messages sent to voluntary, moderated lists may also, as an option, be posted to specific notesfiles which may be read by community members. Voluntary, unmoderated lists do not require an administrator to moderate the content of messages, and members may join or withdraw at any time. Clubs or special interest groups will most often use this list type.