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What is LISTSERV_â

BSU’s LISTSERV (marketed by L-Soft International, Inc.) is an electronic mailing list facility administered by University Computing Services. LISTSERV makes it possible to create, manage and control electronic mailing lists on the BSU network or over the Internet. Messages sent to LISTSERV  are distributed to all people on the mailing list.

Mailing lists are simply lists containing people’s names and e-mail addresses.  The lists are used to send messages to many people at once who generally share a common interest in a particular topic.  The messages could simply be announcements that would be of general interest to the people participating in the list. Or the messages could take on the format of a threaded discussion with people commenting on the topic but also reacting to each other’s messages.

People request that their name be added to the list by a process called subscription. Once added, they are referred to as a list subscriber. People can join (subscribe) or leave (sign-off) the list at anytime. The list subscriber generally stays in touch with the list via e-mail. Messages posted to the list will automatically appear in his e-mail inbox. Depending on the type of list, the subscriber can simply reply to a message or initiate a new posting by sending a new e-mail message to the list. The LISTSERV facilitates this process by managing the addition and deletion of users from the list, providing security and message distribution.

LISTSERV can also maintain archives of all prior messages that were posted to the list; these can be viewed through any standard web browser. The archives are generally organized by week or month and are searchable.  Some list subscribers might even find the web interface more convenient than e-mail to handle posting and some subscription functions.

 LISTSERV lists are managed by list owners. The list owners must assume formal responsibility for the operations of the list. They are responsible for defining the character of the list and all rules governing the usage of the list; they establish guidelines that list subscribers must adhere to if they want to remain part of the list. The list owners are also responsible for answering questions from the list subscribers.

You can find additional information and manuals at this link http://web.bsu.edu/listserv/ucs/ls_manuals.htm.