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--------------------------------------------------------------------- Electronic (E-mail) Mailing Lists Defined: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ae electronic mailing list is a list of names and e-mail addresses that is used to send e-mail messages or announcements to many people, i.e. "listmembers", all at once. Mailing lists are highly interactive. When you send an e-mail message to a mailing list, you can expect most subscribers to receive their copy within 1 to 20 minutes, depending on location and mail system. (ed: as a former AOLian, I can attest to e-mail delays of hours, not minutes, in 1997-1998; maybe things have improved) --------------------------------------------------------------------- List-Owners: --------------------------------------------------------------------- A mailing list is managed by a list owner (or sometimes several owners for large lists). The list owner is the person with formal responsibility for the operation of the list. The list owner defines the list's charter and policy, i.e. what the list is about and what the general rules/membership requirements are. The list owner is also responsible for all administrative matters and for answering questions from the list subscribers. It is not unusual to have several list owners sharing the work and responsibility among themselves; in particular, it is common for a "technical" list owner to assist a "non-technical" list owner who is formally in charge of list administrative matters. --------------------------------------------------------------------- List Archives: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Messages sent (or 'posted') to the mailing list can be saved in files (known as list archives or logfiles) for future reference. You can search the archives (via e-mail) for messages related to a particular topic, or sent by a certain person, and have LISTSERV return to you (via e-mail) a copy of the messages that match your search criteria. --------------------------------------------------------------------- LISTSERV: --------------------------------------------------------------------- LISTSERV is the name of a specific software program that makes it possible to create, manage and control electronic "mailing lists" on the Internet or on a corporate network. In 1986, Eric Thomas wrote the original LISTSERV program, which introduced the concept of an e-mail-based server that assists mailing list administrators in managing list subscriptions, maintaining archives of posted messages, making associated documents available to subscribers or to the general public, optimizing bulk delivery, and so forth. The product was continuously improved over the years, and quickly defined a de facto standard for the management of electronic mailing lists. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Yesterday's (Tue, 6 Jul 1999) Worldwide LISTSERV statistics: --------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of public lists 25,119 Number of local lists 106,010 Total number of lists 131,129 Total membership (public+local) 69,127,020 Total messages delivered today 24,352,216 Largest daily volume PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM 2,875,376 Largest number of subscribers DISPATCH.CNET.COM 6,782,130 Largest number of lists CLEMSON.EDU 4,648 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: --------------------------------------------------------------------- LISTSERV is a registered trademark and, as such, is always spelled in upper case. A common misconception is that "listserv" is a generic English word, like "electronic". Some people say "a listserv list" whether the list is a "real" LISTSERV list or a list managed by a totally different and incompatible mailing list manager (such as MajorDomo). This may sound like nit-picking and an unfair imposition on the memory of non-technical users, but on the other hand, people have no trouble remembering that a "Mac" is not an acceptable way (in some circles at least) to refer to a "PC"! --------------------------------------------------------------------- General User's Guide for LISTSERV(R), version 1.8c, L-Soft International Incorporated <http://www.lsoft.com> adapted and condensed exclusively for use by the PIEnet membership janet paterson revised 1999/07/08 --------------------------------------------------------------------- janet paterson 52 now / 41 dx / 37 onset snail-mail: PO Box 171 Almonte Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada website: a new voice <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Village/6263/> e-mail: <[log in to unmask]>