LISTSERV

In 1986, Éric Thomas redeveloped the original concept of an automated mailing list manager. Whilst a student at École Centrale Paris, he modified the software originally now known as LISTSERV. 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. Other than their name, Bitnic's and Thomas' products are unrelated and neither product is based on the other product's code. 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. == Trademark ==

LISTSERV was registered as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1995, based on its use since 1986. It was registered with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, PRV, in 2001. 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. Nevertheless, the generic use of the term has been common at times. == 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. == 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 == See also ==