LISTSERV

LISTSERV

Overview

LISTSERVs are widely known and used by a broad audience. It is one of the earliest applications of electronic communication. A LISTSERV is an email application that stores a list of email addresses for a group and allows members to send a single email to the entire list. While the term LISTSERV is often used to describe any email application that serves this purpose, it is technically a trademark of the company L-Soft which developed the first email list software application. We use it here generically to describe any LISTSERV (similar to using "Coke" to describe any cola).

Strengths

LISTSERVs provide a simple method to communicate with a large group of people when users do not want conversations publicly available. Subscribers are typically given the option to receive emails sent to the list either individually or in daily batches (i.e., digest). Various LISTSERV options exist that allow owners to control subscribers, access to their names and e-mail addresses, and ability to post messages.

Weaknesses

When an organization seeks to send out regular and frequent communications, many users have a hard time coping with the high volume of email produced. LISTSERVs also tend to be poorly suited to communicating with individuals outside of the group as LISTSERVs are generally designed for private conversations.

Examples

National Partners in Flight and regional working groups use LISTSERVs to communicate with conservation partners throughout the U.S.

Tutorials

http://www.ehow.com/how_5269586_set-up-listserv.html 

Further reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LISTSERV

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