Adding somebody to a distribution list means they receive mail sent to its address. Removing them stops that.

Both are single requests, and both are confirmed before anything changes.

The mistake worth avoiding is the name. Companies routinely have a distribution list and a Microsoft Team called the same thing, and they are different objects managed by different requests.

Before you begin

Confirm which object you mean. Asking Avvi what Teams exist is the quickest way to tell whether a name belongs to one.

Have the person’s email address. A common surname resolved by name costs a round trip.

Ask Avvi

1. Open chat and check the client.
2. Say what you want, naming the list and the person. For example: add sam@example.com to sales@example.com.
3. Read the confirmation, checking both the list and the person, then confirm.

Avvi reports the change once it is done.

Good to know

Several people can be named in one request, and the confirmation lists them all.

Be careful which address you name. Avvi cannot tell a Microsoft Team apart from the group behind it, so a removal aimed at a Team’s address removes that person from the Team, along with its files and channels. The same applies to a group that carries both mail and access.

Verify it worked

Ask Avvi who is in the list. The change should be visible immediately.

Have the person confirm they receive, or stop receiving, mail sent to the address.

If something doesn’t look right

If the person lost access to a Team or a shared resource, the address you named was not a plain mailing list. Add them back and check what the address actually is.

If the person is still receiving mail after removal, check whether they are also in another list that forwards to the same place.

If the confirmation named a Team when you meant a list, cancel and say which you mean.

If the person cannot be found, use their full email address rather than their name.

To report a failure, open a support conversation from the Help drawer with the client, the list and the person.

FAQ

Q: Can I add several people at once?

A: Yes. Name them all and Avvi confirms the set.

Q: Does removing them affect anything else?

A: It can. If the address belongs to a Team or to a group that also grants access, removing somebody takes that access away too. Only a plain mailing list is mail-only.

Q: How do I know whether a name is a list or a Team?

A: Ask Avvi what Teams exist. Anything not on that list is something else.