< messaging > An automatic mailing list server, initially written to run under IBM 's VM operating system by Eric Thomas.
Listserv is a user name on some computers on BITNET / EARN which processes electronic mail requests for addition to or deletion from mailing lists. Examples are listserv@ucsd.edu, listserver@nysernet.org.
Some listservs provide other facilities such as retrieving files from archives and database search. Full details of available services can usually be obtained by sending a message with the word HELP in the subject and body to the listserv address.
Eric Thomas, has recently formed an international corporation, L-Soft, and has ported Listserv to a number of other platforms including Unix . Listserv has simultaneously been enhanced to use both the Internet and BITNET .
Two other major mailing list processors, both of which run under Unix , are Majordomo , a freeware system, and Listproc , currently owned and developed by BITNET .
(1995-02-22)