LISTSERV basics
LISTSERV is L-Soft International, Inc.'s software for managing mailing lists. It enables a large group of people to communicate effectively with one another without requiring each person to maintain a mailing list of all the other participants. Additionally, LISTSERV can archive postings in a searchable online database, send indexed digests to participants instead of individual messages, and make sets of files publicly accessible by email.LISTSERV is only one type of electronic mailing list software. Other types of shared public mailing lists include Majordomo lists, Procmail lists, and LISTPROC.
LISTSERV is effective at combating spam, a frequent problem with shared mailing lists. Since LISTSERV servers communicate with each other, when one server detects a spam file, it notifies all the other servers, so that each server can cut off the unwanted messages.
For a collection of documents with general LISTSERV information, and information about owning and subscribing to LISTSERV lists at Indiana University, see LISTSERV and other mailing lists.
