Creating a group in OS 13

Mail doesn't create Goups, per se.

It feeds off Contacts.app - you can create a group in Contacts.app, then enter that Group name into the To: line in a new message, and it will pull the email addresses in.

However, the group itself is only local to you - you're the only one that sees the group name, and the other recipients will see the individual addresses (unless you use BCC).

In mail, there are groups.

There are no "groups" or "distribution list" or anything like that in Mail.

Mail accesses the groups (now Lists) in Contacts. You cannot create a group that is somehow resident in Mail.

You select a group the same way you would select an individual to send an email. In earlier OS versions it was a simple process. (In contacts, file, new group) Now, there is no longer an option.

That group you selected comes from Contacts. Same as the individuals. Mail does store Previous Recipients (Window menu), but those do not contain groups of individuals.

"Lists" do not function as groups.

Sure they do. What is it that doesn't work for you? There has been a long-standing problem where sometimes you cannot select a group from Contacts. You have to type the group name and hit return. This may extend into Ventura Mail with Lists.

I don't believe Smart Lists work at all (at least for me--I haven't tried to rebuild them).

You can create your own "groups" by entering all of the email addresses into the To field, select all of them, and drag to the Finder. That will create a Text Clipping. You can then drag that Text Clipping into the To (or CC or Bcc) field.

Lists function exactly as groups, they used to be called groups. It's just that Apple decided to change the name.

What is it that is not working for you?

'A group'?

'A group', as in system accounts?

'A group', as in a group of people in Contacts.app?

'A group', as in a group chat in Messages.app?

'A group' as in a collection of files/photos/docs/other?

'A group', as in some other definition that I'm not thinking of off the top of my head?

Your question is too vague to be able to answer as-is. Please provide more information as to what it is you're trying to do.

Just as a little addition to Barney's comprehensive reply:

Here is a list in Contacts (created just as an example; I have many other lists there):

And here is my composing an e-mail to that very same list:

Again, except for the change of name from "groups" to "lists", it all works exactly the same as before.

EDIT: Oh, and you can click the little arrow next to "ABC" and choose "Expand Group" to see the actual e-mail addresses (interestingly, in Mail it still calls it "group", but that does not affect functionality).