LISTSERV: Difference between revisions

Listserv
Original author(s)	Éric Thomas
Initial release	1986; 38 years ago
Stable release	LISTSERV 17.0 / July 9, 2019; 5 years ago
Platform	Cross-platform
Type	Mailing lists
License	Proprietary
Website	www.lsoft.com/products/listserv.asp

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The term Listserv (styled by the registered trademark licensee, L-Soft International, Inc., as LISTSERV) has been used to refer to electronic mailing list software applications in general, but is more properly^[3] applied to a few early instances of such software, which allows a sender to send one email to a list, which then transparently sends it on to the addresses of the subscribers to the list.

The original Listserv software, the Bitnic Listserv (also known as BITNIC LISTSERV) (1984–1986), allowed mailing lists to be implemented on IBM VM mainframes and was developed by Ira Fuchs, Daniel Oberst, and Ricky Hernandez in 1984. This mailing list service was known as Listserv@Bitnic (also known as LISTSERV@BITNIC) and quickly became a key service on the BITNET network. It provided functionality similar to a UNIX Sendmail alias and, as with Sendmail, subscriptions were managed manually.

In 1986, Éric Thomas developed an independent application, originally named "Revised Listserv" (also known as "Revised LISTSERV"), which was the first automated mailing list management application. Prior to Revised Listserv, email lists were managed manually. To join or leave a list, people would write to a list administrator and ask to be added or removed, a process that became more time-consuming as discussion lists grew in popularity.^[4]

By 1987, the users of the Bitnic Listserv had migrated to Thomas' version.

Listserv was freeware from 1986 through 1993 and is now a commercial product developed by L-Soft, a company founded by Thomas in 1994.^[5]^[6] A free version limited to ten lists of up to 500 subscribers each can be downloaded from the company's web site.^[7]

Several other list-management tools were subsequently developed, such as Lyris ListManager in 1997 (now Aurea Email Marketing),^[8] Sympa in 1997, GNU Mailman in 1998, and Gaggle^[9] in 2015.

Automated mailing list management

In 1986, Éric Thomas developed the concept of an automated mailing list manager. Whilst a student at École Centrale Paris, he developed the software now known as LISTSERV.^[1] Some of the early software features allowed joining or leaving a list without the need for human administration. The list owner could also add or remove subscribers, and edit templates for both welcome and system messages. Amongst other innovations LISTSERV introduced double opt-in in 1993 and the first spam filter in 1995.^[10]

After the release of Thomas' LISTSERV in 1986, LISTSERV@BITNIC was enhanced to provide automatic list management, but this enhancement was abandoned a few months later when Bitnic installed Thomas' LISTSERV.^[11]

Other than their name, Bitnic's and Thomas' products are unrelated and neither product is based on the other product's code.^[12]

Though electronic mailing lists (also known as "email lists") are not as popular as they once were, they survive due to their ease of use.^[13]

Trademark

LISTSERV was registered as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1995, based on its use since 1986.^[14] It was registered with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, PRV, in 2001.^[15] As such, in those jurisdictions, using the word "listserv" to describe a different product or as a generic term for any email-based mailing list of that kind is a trademark misuse. The standard generic terms are electronic mailing list, e-list, or email list for the list itself, and email list manager or email list software for the software product that manages the list.^[16] Nevertheless, the generic use of the term has been common at times.^[13]

Security

Individual user passwords were stored in plaintext until version 15.0. This made them available to users who are listed as "Site Managers" or "Postmasters" in the application configuration. Storing passwords in plaintext has the potential to allow anyone with access to the site, including attackers who might have compromised the site, to read the credentials. With the 2007 release of version 15.5, passwords are now stored hashed to defend against this attack.^[17]

Editions

LISTSERV is available in several licensing options: LISTSERV Lite Free Edition for non-commercial hobby use; LISTSERV Lite for smaller workloads; LISTSERV, the standard, full-featured version; LISTSERV HPO (High Performance Option); and LISTSERV Maestro (for customized and targeted email publishing and reporting).

Supported operating systems

A list of currently-supported operating systems can be found at LISTSERV Supported Operating Systems

References

^ ^a ^b "History of the Internet – 1986".
^ "New in LISTSERV 17.0". L-Soft.
^ "LISTSERV Definition". techterms.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
^ "Unedited archives of LSTSRV-L, LISTSERV site administrators' forum, July 1986–".
^ Costello, Sam (October 30, 2001). "E-mail lists get virus protection". Sci-Tech. CNN.
^ "CV of Éric Thomas".
^ "L-Soft web page with download links for the free version, LISTSERV Lite Free". Retrieved 12 April 2013.
^ "Lyris". Aurea Software. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
^ "Best Listserv Alternative • Gaggle Mail". gaggle.email. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
^ "Listserv product history timeline".
^ "Bitnet Network Information Center announcement by Judith Molka on the NODMGT-L List, January 7, 1987".^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "History of LISTSERV@BITNIC and LISTSERV email list management software, 1985–1995".
^ ^a ^b Lambert, Greg (June 2009). "Where Do Listservs Fit in a Social Media World?: The networking tool of the 90s is starting to show its age" (PDF). AALL Spectrum. 13: 8, 9, 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2019-01-25.
^ "LISTSERV Trademark Registration at USPTO".
^ "PRV, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office".
^ "LISTSERV trademark information".
^ "What's New for LISTSERV". 2007. Retrieved 2012-03-08.

External links

LISTSERV product information on L-Soft's Web site and its catalog of LISTSERV lists (CataList Email List Search)

[history-1] "History of the Internet – 1986".

[ls_release-2] "New in LISTSERV 17.0". L-Soft.

[3] "LISTSERV Definition". techterms.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.

[4] "Unedited archives of LSTSRV-L, LISTSERV site administrators' forum, July 1986–".

[5] Costello, Sam (October 30, 2001). "E-mail lists get virus protection". Sci-Tech. CNN.

[6] "CV of Éric Thomas".

[7] "L-Soft web page with download links for the free version, LISTSERV Lite Free". Retrieved 12 April 2013.

[8] "Lyris". Aurea Software. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2022-04-25.

[9] "Best Listserv Alternative • Gaggle Mail". gaggle.email. Retrieved 2022-04-25.

[10] "Listserv product history timeline".

[11] "Bitnet Network Information Center announcement by Judith Molka on the NODMGT-L List, January 7, 1987".^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[12] "History of LISTSERV@BITNIC and LISTSERV email list management software, 1985–1995".

[spectrum-13] Lambert, Greg (June 2009). "Where Do Listservs Fit in a Social Media World?: The networking tool of the 90s is starting to show its age" (PDF). AALL Spectrum. 13: 8, 9, 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2019-01-25.

[14] "LISTSERV Trademark Registration at USPTO".

[15] "PRV, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office".

[16] "LISTSERV trademark information".

[17] "What's New for LISTSERV". 2007. Retrieved 2012-03-08.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{short description|Electronic mailing list software}}
 {{about|the specific software application|electronic mailing lists in general|electronic mailing list}}
 {{Infobox Software
@@ Line 9: / Line 10: @@
 | developer              =
 | released               = {{Start date and age|1986}}<ref name=history>{{cite web | url=http://www.nic.funet.fi/index/FUNET/history/internet/en/1986.html | title=History of the Internet&nbsp;– 1986}}</ref>
-| latest release version = LISTSERV Lite Free Edition 16.0 2014b
+| latest release version = LISTSERV 17.0<ref name="ls_release">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv_170.asp|title=New in LISTSERV 17.0|website=L-Soft}}</ref>
-| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|2014}}
+| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|2019|07|09}}
 | programming language   =
 | operating system       =
 | platform               = [[Cross-platform]]
 | language               =
-| status                 = Mature
 | genre                  = [[Mailing lists]]
-| license                = [[Proprietary software|proprietary]]
+| license                = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
-| website                = {{URL|www.lsoft.com/products/listserv.asp}}
+| website                = {{URL|https://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv.asp}}
 }}
-The term '''Listserv''' (written by the registered trademark licensee, L-Soft International, Inc., as '''LISTSERV''') has been used to refer to [[electronic mailing list]] software applications in general, but is more properly applied to a few early instances of such software, which allows a sender to send one [[email]] to the list, and then transparently sends it on to the addresses of the subscribers to the list.
+The term '''Listserv''' (styled by the registered trademark licensee, L-Soft International, Inc., as '''LISTSERV''') has been used to refer to [[electronic mailing list]] software applications in general, but is more properly<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techterms.com/definition/listserv|title=LISTSERV Definition|website=techterms.com|access-date=2019-10-02}}</ref> applied to a few early instances of such software, which allows a sender to send one [[email]] to a list, which then transparently sends it on to the addresses of the subscribers to the list.
 The original Listserv software, the Bitnic Listserv (also known as BITNIC LISTSERV) (1984–1986), allowed mailing lists to be implemented on [[IBM]] VM [[Mainframe computer|mainframes]] and was developed by [[Ira Fuchs]], Daniel Oberst, and Ricky Hernandez in 1984. This mailing list service was known as Listserv@Bitnic (also known as LISTSERV@BITNIC) and quickly became a key service on the [[BITNET]] network. It provided functionality similar to a UNIX [[Sendmail]] alias and, as with Sendmail, subscriptions were managed manually.
-In 1986, Éric Thomas developed an independent application, originally named "Revised Listserv" (also known as "Revised LISTSERV"), which was the first automated mailing list management application. Prior to Revised Listserv, email lists were managed manually. To join or leave a list, people would write to the human list administrator and ask to be added or removed, a process that only got more time-consuming as discussion lists grew in popularity.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?A0=LSTSRV-L | title=Unedited archives of LSTSRV-L, LISTSERV site administrators' forum, July 1986–}}</ref>
+In 1986, Éric Thomas developed an independent application, originally named "Revised Listserv" (also known as "Revised LISTSERV"), which was the first automated mailing list management application. Prior to Revised Listserv, email lists were managed manually. To join or leave a list, people would write to a list administrator and ask to be added or removed, a process that became more time-consuming as discussion lists grew in popularity.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?A0=LSTSRV-L | title=Unedited archives of LSTSRV-L, LISTSERV site administrators' forum, July 1986–}}</ref>
 By 1987, the users of the Bitnic Listserv had migrated to Thomas' version.
-Listserv was freeware from 1986 through 1993 and is now a commercial product developed by L-Soft, a company founded by Listserv author Éric Thomas in 1994.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/10/30/fsecure.email.idg/index.html | title=Costello Sam. "E-mail lists get virus protection", ''CNN.com, Sci-Tech'', October 30, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/corporate/ericthomas_cv.asp | title=CV of Éric Thomas}}</ref>  A free version limited to ten lists of up to 500 subscribers each can be downloaded from the company's web site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lsoft.com/download/listservfree.asp |title=L-Soft web page with download links for the free version,  ''LISTSERV Lite Free''|accessdate=12 April 2013}}</ref>
+Listserv was freeware from 1986 through 1993 and is now a commercial product developed by L-Soft, a company founded by Thomas in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |first= Sam |last=Costello |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/10/30/fsecure.email.idg/index.html | title=E-mail lists get virus protection |publisher=CNN |department=Sci-Tech |date=October 30, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/corporate/ericthomas_cv.asp | title=CV of Éric Thomas}}</ref>  A free version limited to ten lists of up to 500 subscribers each can be downloaded from the company's web site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lsoft.com/download/listservfree.asp |title=L-Soft web page with download links for the free version, ''LISTSERV Lite Free''|accessdate=12 April 2013}}</ref>
-Several other list management tools were subsequently developed, such as [[Lyris ListManager]] in 1997, [[Sympa]] in 1997, [[GNU Mailman]] in 1998.
+Several other list-management tools were subsequently developed, such as Lyris ListManager in 1997 (now Aurea Email Marketing),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-06 |title=Lyris |url=https://www.aurea.com/our-acquisitions/lyris/ |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=Aurea Software |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Sympa]] in 1997, [[GNU Mailman]] in 1998, and Gaggle<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Listserv Alternative • Gaggle Mail |url=https://gaggle.email/listserv-alternative |access-date=2022-04-25 |website=gaggle.email}}</ref> in 2015.
 == Automated mailing list management ==
-In 1986, Éric Thomas invented the concept of an automated mailing list manager. Whilst a student at [[École Centrale Paris|Ecole Centrale Paris]], he developed the software now known as LISTSERV.<ref name=history /> Some of the early software features allowed joining or leaving a list without the need for human administration. Also, the list owner could add or remove subscribers, and edit templates for both welcome and system messages. Amongst other innovations LISTSERV introduced double opt-in in 1993 and the first spam filter in 1995.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/corporate/history_listserv.asp | title=Listserv product history timeline}}</ref>
+In 1986, Éric Thomas developed the concept of an automated mailing list manager. Whilst a student at [[École Centrale Paris]], he developed the software now known as LISTSERV.<ref name=history /> Some of the early software features allowed joining or leaving a list without the need for human administration. The list owner could also add or remove subscribers, and edit templates for both welcome and system messages. Amongst other innovations LISTSERV introduced double opt-in in 1993 and the first spam filter in 1995.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/corporate/history-listserv.asp | title=Listserv product history timeline}}</ref>
-After the release of Thomas' LISTSERV in 1986, LISTSERV@BITNIC was enhanced to provide automatic list management, but was abandoned a few months later when Bitnic installed Thomas' LISTSERV.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.listserv.dfn.de/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind8701&L=NODMGT-L&P=R2&I=-3 | title=Bitnet Network Information Center announcement by Judith Molka on the NODMGT-L List, January 7, 1987}}</ref>
+After the release of Thomas' LISTSERV in 1986, LISTSERV@BITNIC was enhanced to provide automatic list management, but this enhancement was abandoned a few months later when Bitnic installed Thomas' LISTSERV.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.listserv.dfn.de/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind8701&L=NODMGT-L&P=R2&I=-3 | title=Bitnet Network Information Center announcement by Judith Molka on the NODMGT-L List, January 7, 1987 }}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
 Other than their name, Bitnic's and Thomas' products are unrelated and neither product is based on the other product's code.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv-history.asp | title=History of LISTSERV@BITNIC and LISTSERV email list management software, 1985–1995}}</ref>
-Though [[electronic mailing lists]] (also known as "email lists") are not as popular as they once were, they continue to be used today due to their ease of use.<ref name="spectrum"/>
+Though [[electronic mailing lists]] (also known as "email lists") are not as popular as they once were, they survive due to their ease of use.<ref name="spectrum"/>
 == Trademark ==
-LISTSERV was registered as a trademark with the [[U.S. Patent and Trademark Office]] in 1995, based on its use since 1986.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=registration&entry=2001258 | title=LISTSERV Trademark Registration at USPTO}}</ref>  It was registered with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, [[Swedish Patent and Registration Office|PRV]], in 2001.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.prv.se/ | title=PRV, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office}}</ref> As such, in those jurisdictions, using the word "listserv" to describe a different product or as a generic term for any email-based mailing list of that kind is a trademark misuse. The standard generic terms are ''electronic mailing list'', elist, or ''email list'' for the list itself, and ''email list manager'' or ''email list software'' for the software product that manages the list.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/corporate/trademark.asp | title=LISTSERV trademark information}}</ref>  Nevertheless, the generic use of the term has been common at times.<ref name="spectrum">{{cite journal|last=Lambert|first=Greg|date=June 2009|title=Where Do Listservs Fit in a Social Media World?: The networking tool of the 90s is starting to show its age|journal=AALL Spectrum|pages=8,9,13|url=http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-13/pub_sp0906/pub-sp0906-listservs.pdf|volume=13}}</ref>
+LISTSERV was registered as a trademark with the [[U.S. Patent and Trademark Office]] in 1995, based on its use since 1986.<ref>{{cite web | url= http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=registration&entry=2001258 | title=LISTSERV Trademark Registration at USPTO}}</ref>  It was registered with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, [[Swedish Patent and Registration Office|PRV]], in 2001.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.prv.se/ | title=PRV, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office}}</ref> As such, in those jurisdictions, using the word "listserv" to describe a different product or as a generic term for any email-based mailing list of that kind is a trademark misuse. The standard generic terms are ''electronic mailing list'', [[Wiktionary:E-list|e-list]], or ''email list'' for the list itself, and ''email list manager'' or ''email list software'' for the software product that manages the list.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lsoft.com/corporate/trademark.asp | title=LISTSERV trademark information}}</ref>  Nevertheless, the generic use of the term has been common at times.<ref name="spectrum">{{cite journal|last=Lambert|first=Greg|date=June 2009|title=Where Do Listservs Fit in a Social Media World?: The networking tool of the 90s is starting to show its age|journal=AALL Spectrum|pages=8,9,13|url=http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-13/pub_sp0906/pub-sp0906-listservs.pdf|volume=13|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319151852/http://www.aallnet.org/main-menu/Publications/spectrum/Archives/Vol-13/pub_sp0906/pub-sp0906-listservs.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 == Security ==
-Through version 15.0, individual user [[password]]s were stored in the clear, and available to users who are listed as Site Managers or "Postmasters" in the application configuration, thus allowing unethical managers, or attackers who compromise the site, to easily try to reuse the username and password on other sites. Passwords are hashed to protect against this since version 15.5, which was released in 2007.<ref>{{cite news
+Individual user [[password]]s were stored in plaintext until version 15.0. This made them available to users who are listed as "Site Managers" or "Postmasters" in the application configuration. Storing passwords in plaintext has the potential to allow anyone with access to the site, including attackers who might have compromised the site, to read the credentials. With the 2007 release of version 15.5, passwords are now stored [[Cryptographic hash function|hashed]] to defend against this attack.<ref>{{cite news
  | url=http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/15.5/htmlhelp/what's%20new/WhatsNew.3.1.html
- | title=What’s New for LISTSERV
+ | title=What's New for LISTSERV
  | work=
  | author=
@@ Line 58: / Line 59: @@
 == Supported operating systems ==
-A list of currently-supported operating systems can be found at http://lsoft.com/products/listserv_os.asp
+A list of currently-supported operating systems can be found at [http://lsoft.com/products/listserv_os.asp LISTSERV Supported Operating Systems]
 == See also ==
 {{Portal|Internet}}
+* [[List of mailing list software]]
-* [[Regroup]]
-* [[Majordomo (software)]]
 * [[Massively distributed collaboration]]
-* [[GNU Mailman]]
-* [[Sympa]]
-* [[Dada Mail]]
 == References ==
@@ Line 73: / Line 70: @@
 == External links ==
-* [http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv.asp LISTSERV product information on L-Soft's Web site]
+* [http://www.lsoft.com/products/listserv.asp LISTSERV product information on L-Soft's Web site] and its [http://www.lsoft.com/resources/listserv-community.asp catalog of LISTSERV lists] (CataList Email List Search)
+[[Category:1986 software]]
 [[Category:Mailing list software]]
 [[Category:Internet protocols]]
@@ Line 80: / Line 78: @@
 [[Category:Internet Protocol based network software]]
 [[Category:Email]]
+[[Category:Trademarks]]