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Washington, DC (June 30, 1996) – On June 30, 1986 at 12:25 p.m. (Paris time), Eric Thomas posted the opening message to the first of a new generation of electronic mailing lists that, unlike their predecessors, would be managed automatically by a computer program responding to commands sent by the list members, freeing the "list owner" from tedious clerical work. The subject of the message was "Test mail", the name of the list was LSTSRV-L, and the recipients were a small group of people who were interested in Thomas's new list server and had asked to be sent a copy as soon as it was finished. Although Thomas expected his project to be over within a few weeks, the program that is now known as LISTSERV® has been continually improved upon over the past 10 years to become the most popular mailing list management software available.
Today, LISTSERV® helps thousands of list owners manage mailing lists where people discuss anything from hypertension to volleyball. Every weekday, the software delivers over 11 million pieces of electronic mail to millions of subscribers – more than 4 times the number of daily package deliveries performed by FedEx.*
L-Soft international, Inc., the exclusive distributors of LISTSERV®, will be celebrating LISTSERV's 10th anniversary by throwing an online party with prizes, giveaways, awards and free software licenses valued at $1 million.
"Ten years is a very long time, almost eternity, where the Internet is concerned," says L-Soft Communications and Marketing Coordinator Susan Lowell, "and we're grateful to all the faithful contributors and LISTSERV fans who have given us the feedback we needed to improve the product over the years and make LISTSERV the most popular electronic mailing list manager available. An anniversary celebration is a great opportunity for us to give something back – both to the LISTSERV community and to the Internet as a whole."
The anniversary festivities will include a global 24-hour party to celebrate the occasion (coming in September) and a wide range of giveaways, including free LISTSERV® packages, free EASESM mailing lists hosted on L-Soft's central servers, and commemorative t-shirts. Details about the celebration, including information on how to apply for awards or register to win anniversary prizes, will be posted on L-Soft's Web site.
* According to the figures at www.fedex.com
LISTSERV is a registered trademark licensed to L-Soft international, Inc.
See Guidelines for Proper Usage of the LISTSERV Trademark for more details.
All other trademarks, both marked and unmarked, are the property of their respective owners.
