List mode help
When your mailing list subscription is set to digest mode the server bundles up all the individual email messages until a certain number have been collected (typically 25-30) or a fixed amount of time has passed (typically 3 days) and sends out one long message. If a mailing list has a large amount of traffic, or you only read the list messages once in a while, the digest option is the most useful.
Conversely individual mode sends out each email as soon as it has been processed by the server. If you want to get emails as soon as they are sent to the server or there isn't a high volume of messages through the mailing list, individual mode keeps you bang up-to-date with what's being discussed.
Not all mailing lists have both options, it's often best to start out with the individual mode unless the number of emails is very high. You can switch between individual and digest mode at any time using the digest link from the list's homepage.
