The widespread use of electronic mail (email) has become an efficient, convenient, and economical way for people from all over the world to communicate. While traditional email is ideal for one-on-one interaction, email lists advance the concept a step further by disseminating a single message simultaneously to a group of people. Fast, global, and cost effective mass communication is easy with the use of email lists.
With email lists, companies and institutions can quickly and cost-effectively deliver thousands, even millions, of direct email messages simultaneously over the Internet. Furthermore, through database integration, messages can be personalized according to each recipient’s demographic information and preferences. Newsletters and announcements can be conveniently distributed by email to patrons, customers, distributors, and resellers. Email discussion groups can be used for interaction among co-workers in special projects and workgroups, or to keep lines of communications open between individuals scattered throughout the world working towards a common goal. Individuals can form non-commercial discussion forums on just about any imaginable topic of interest, from hobbies to health support groups. The possibilities of how email lists can be used for communication among groups of people are virtually endless. See the Case Studies page on L-Soft’s Web site for real-life examples:
http://www.lsoft.com/customers/casestudies.asp
LISTSERV is an email list management software program. Email list management software makes it easy to administer email lists, performing in seconds the functions that would otherwise have to be done manually, possibly taking many hours or days to complete. Introduced in 1986 on BITNET, LISTSERV was the first software program to automate the administration of email lists. It is the most time-tested and reliable email list management product on the market today.
In order to use LISTSERV, the software must be installed on a server with a dedicated connection to the Internet. LISTSERV is available for a variety of server operating systems.
When a list is set up, an email address is created for the list, which is then used to send or “post” messages to the list. Once a message is sent, it is delivered to the central server where L-Soft’s LISTSERV (the mailing list management software) resides. The software then completes the operation by automatically distributing the message to all subscribers on the list, in the manner indicated by their subscription options.
In addition to mailing lists, LISTSERV also acts as a file server – a program that manages collections of files and makes them available to users upon request. Among these files are the list archives we have already mentioned, but LISTSERV can store just about any kind of file: papers put up for discussion, agendas and minutes of upcoming meetings, survey results, programs, electronic magazine issues, etc. These files are organized in filelists (VM version) or catalogs (other versions), which are very much like directories on a PC. Each filelist or catalog contains a list of files, along with some descriptive text and two file access codes (or FACs) that define who is allowed to order a copy of the file and who is the person in charge of updating it (the file owner).
There are five main classifications of people who can interact with LISTSERV. Each classification has a differing level of responsibility for its role and interaction with the software. Figure 1-4 below illustrates the hierarchy of these classifications. It also represents the relative number of people who fit into each classification.
The LISTSERV maintainer is the technical person in charge of the LISTSERV application on a particular server. The LISTSERV maintainer may not be in charge of the entire server, but should have privileged access to the computer and know where to get help if there is a problem with the hardware, software, or network connection. The LISTSERV maintainer:
The list owner is the person formally in charge of the operation of a specific list. The list owner is usually knowledgeable in the field covered by the list. There can be more than one list owner for a list. The responsibility of the list owner is limited to the list itself, and does not include the computer running the list, its mail system, network lines, and other hardware specifics. List owners:
A list moderator may or may not be the list owner as well. There can be more than one list moderator for a list, and some lists have none. Moderators receive incoming messages sent to a moderated list and determine whether they should be distributed to the list. List moderators:
List subscribers are people who have requested and have been granted permission to join a particular mailing list. Subscribers:
Non-subscribers include everyone not subscribed to a list. Non-subscribers:
