Shared inbox vs distribution list
A distribution list copies an email to everyone with no shared state; a shared inbox is one place where the team sees who is replying and what is still open.
Both let several people receive mail sent to one address, so they get confused. The difference is what happens after the message arrives.
A distribution list (or Google group set to forward) fans the email out to each member's personal inbox. There is no shared record, so two people reply, a third assumes someone else has it, and nothing shows what is unanswered. A shared inbox keeps one copy the whole team works from, with assignment and status.
Steps
- 1
Distribution list: copies, no state
Everyone gets their own copy. Good for announcements one way; poor for support, because there is no way to see ownership or whether a message was handled.
- 2
Shared mailbox: one copy, still no status
Better than a list because there is a single mailbox, but it still does not track who is replying or which emails are open, so collisions and gaps continue.
- 3
Shared inbox: one copy with ownership
A shared inbox assigns each conversation, shows its status, and prevents two people answering the same message. That is the model support teams actually need.