A LISTSERV is a limited-circulation mail-exploding program that runs on IBM mainframes and similar equipment. LISTSERVes are started and administered by people (the "List owner") who have use of such machines . However, anyone with USENET, BITNET or other Internet access, on any kind of machine, may subscribe to them; you don't even need to have USENET access to participate in a LISTSERV - it works through e-mail. There's usually no subscription cost. Since LISTSERVes operate through the e-mail system, your local system administrator or sysop is not involved in, nor has control over, your access to any specific LISTSERV - but the (remote) `list owner' is and does, since he runs the program that sends each "installment" sent to you from the machine from which the mailing List is managed. Basically, the way they work is that messages sent to the mailing List by a participant get automatically copied and distributed to all participants. Thus, postings are always addressed to ALL, though threading and quotations (and personal altercations!) are frequent. In this way, one can distribute text messages or binary files (UUENCODEd into text format) to a preselected audience. Depending on how a particular list was set up, postings to it may or may not require individual approval by the list owner before they are distributed to everyone. While LISTSERVes do not run on Unix systems, their output is often also distributed via USENET news. Moreover, many LISTSERVes are duplicated by corresponding USENET newsgroups which mirror their postings; in these cases, the output is public and not addressed to any individual. Unlike LISTSERVs, such `Newsgroup Lists' may be read anonymously, but postings on them are not anonymous. LISTSERVes may be used for storing and cataloging files as well as messages and are actually powerful file servers in addition to mailing-list managers. Some LISTSERV mailing Lists are private and are not advertised, or are known to only a limited group of participants or candidates. Many academic specialties, for example, have their own, limited-circulation LISTSERVes. "Public" Lists such as those shown below may be subscribed to by anyone with e-mail access, at any time, simply by sending a short message to the LISTSERV's e-mail address. Typically, your message would simply say: "SUBSCRIBE XXXXXX-L", where XXXXXX-L is the name of the mailing List you wish to join. The LISTSERV program takes your name and address *from the header of your message* and uses them to send material to you until you unsubscribe. It will acknowledge your subscription as a first step. Once you've joined, you might wish to send it another message, saying: "INFO GENINTRO", which will get you some information on, and a general introduction to, the use of LISTSERVes. There is an e-mail address for each LISTSERV *program* itself and there's another e-mail address to which posts are sent to each *mailing List* that the LISTSERV program handles. Commands are sent to the LISTSERV address; postings are sent to the mailing List address; the latter's domain name is always ".BITNET". The two addresses may look similar but are not identical! Reversing them will result in hopeless mishmash. The system cannot be used for private e-mail, although command transactions between users and the program are not made public. As shown above, LISTSERVes interact with users via special commands sent to them through e-mail. In this way, you can obtain a full list of fellow subscribers (except those who requested anonymity), or ask the LISTSERV program to send you instructions and help on how to use it, or request statistics about its mailing activities, or its file holdings at any time, etc. In IBM/BITNET fashion, LISTSERV commands and expressions are usually capitalized, although the system does recognize lower-case commands and names. LISTSERV names are limited to eight characters. Many having names of less than 8 chars end their name in "-L" (e.g., VIRUS-L, on computer viruses). Names with more than 8 chars become truncated. Follow some of the available LISTSERV mailing Lists known to me; there are many others. These names are taken from a Unix system, so they are shown as newsgroups under the "bit." category (bit=BITNET). On other systems, and especially on BITNET systems, the full names would look different. Mark Sartori ----------------------- bit.listserv.9370-l About 9370 systems bit.listserv.aaua-l bit.listserv.advise-l bit.listserv.aidsnews News on AIDS bit.listserv.aix-l On the AIX system (IBM's version of UNIX) bit.listserv.allmusic On music of all kinds bit.listserv.anthro-l On anthropology bit.listserv.apple2-l On the Apple II system bit.listserv.applicat bit.listserv.asm370 On 370 assembly language bit.listserv.big-lan On large local-area networks bit.listserv.billing On billing..? bit.listserv.biosph-l Regarding the Biosphere bit.listserv.bitnews News on BITNET bit.listserv.brfc-l bit.listserv.c18-l bit.listserv.c370-l C language on 370 bit.listserv.candle-l Not about candles..! bit.listserv.christia On Christianity bit.listserv.cics-l bit.listserv.cinema-l On cinema bit.listserv.cmspip-l bit.listserv.commed On commedy bit.listserv.commodor On Commodore computers bit.listserv.confer-l bit.listserv.confocal On confocal optics bit.listserv.cumrec-l bit.listserv.cyber-l On cybernetics bit.listserv.db2-l bit.listserv.dbase-l On dBase bit.listserv.disarm-l On disarmament bit.listserv.domain-l bit.listserv.drp-l bit.listserv.earntech bit.listserv.economy On the economy bit.listserv.edi-l bit.listserv.edpolyan bit.listserv.edtech On technical education bit.listserv.edusig-l bit.listserv.emflds-l bit.listserv.emusic-l On electronic music bit.listserv.envbeh-l bit.listserv.erl-l bit.listserv.esl-l bit.listserv.ethics-l On ethics bit.listserv.film-l On films bit.listserv.frac-l bit.listserv.future-l bit.listserv.games-l On games bit.listserv.gaynet For gay people bit.listserv.gddm-l bit.listserv.geodesic On geodesics? bit.listserv.gerinet A geriatric net..? bit.listserv.gguide bit.listserv.gis-l bit.listserv.govdoc-l Government documents..? bit.listserv.gutnberg Something to do with printing bit.listserv.hellas On Greece and Greeks bit.listserv.helpnet You can probably get some help here bit.listserv.history On history bit.listserv.i-amiga For Amiga fans bit.listserv.ibm-hesc bit.listserv.ibm-main On IBM mainframes bit.listserv.ibm-nets On IBM mainframe networks bit.listserv.ibm7171 bit.listserv.ibmtcp-l bit.listserv.icu-l bit.listserv.info-gcg bit.listserv.infonets bit.listserv.ioob-l bit.listserv.isn bit.listserv.jes2-l bit.listserv.jnet-l bit.listserv.l-hcap bit.listserv.l-vmctr bit.listserv.lawsch-l bit.listserv.liaison Don't know what kind. bit.listserv.license Software? bit.listserv.linkfail bit.listserv.literary Literary. bit.listserv.lstsrv-l On LISTSERVes bit.listserv.mail-l bit.listserv.mailbook bit.listserv.mba-l For MBAs bit.listserv.mbu-l For MBUs..? bit.listserv.medlib-l Medical library? bit.listserv.mednews Medical news..? bit.listserv.mexico-l On Mexico bit.listserv.ministry-l bit.listserv.mon-l bit.listserv.nazi-l About Nazis bit.listserv.netmon-l Net monitor..? bit.listserv.netnws-l On Net news bit.listserv.netscout bit.listserv.new-list bit.listserv.newsb-l bit.listserv.next-l On the Next system bit.listserv.nodmgt-l On node management bit.listserv.notis-l bit.listserv.novell Re Novell OS bit.listserv.omrscan bit.listserv.online-l bit.listserv.ozone About the ozone layer bit.listserv.pacs-l bit.listserv.page-l bit.listserv.pagemakr On Pagemaker and DTP bit.listserv.pmdf-l bit.listserv.policy-l On public policy bit.listserv.politics On politics bit.listserv.power-l On power (same thing ) bit.listserv.procom-l Re Procom bit.listserv.redist-l bit.listserv.relusr-l bit.listserv.rexxlist On the REXX language bit.listserv.rhetoric bit.listserv.rscsmods bit.listserv.rscsv2-l bit.listserv.rustex-l bit.listserv.s-comput bit.listserv.sas-l On the SAS statistical-analysis package bit.listserv.saw-l bit.listserv.script-l bit.listserv.scuba-l For scuba divers bit.listserv.security Re security bit.listserv.servers On servers bit.listserv.simula Some kind of simulation bit.listserv.snamgt-l bit.listserv.sos-data bit.listserv.spires-l bit.listserv.sportpsy Sports psychology? bit.listserv.spssx-l bit.listserv.sqlinfo On SQL bit.listserv.stat-l On statistics bit.listserv.std-l bit.listserv.tech-l bit.listserv.test bit.listserv.tex-l On the TEX typesetting language bit.listserv.tn3270-l Something about 3270 systems bit.listserv.trafic-l bit.listserv.trans-l bit.listserv.travel-l On travel and travelers bit.listserv.ucp-l bit.listserv.ug-l bit.listserv.urep-l bit.listserv.usrdir-l bit.listserv.valert-l Virus alert mailing list bit.listserv.vector-l bit.listserv.vfort-l bit.listserv.virus-l Virus discussion list (equiv. to comp.virus) bit.listserv.vm-util Utilities for VM systems bit.listserv.vmslsv-l On VMS LISTSERVes? bit.listserv.vmxa-l bit.listserv.vnews-l bit.listserv.win3-l On Windows 3.x bit.listserv.word-pc ON MS Word bit.listserv.wp50-l On Word Perfect 5.0 bit.listserv.x400-l On X400 nets bit.listserv.xcult-l bit.listserv.xedit-l On the Xedit text editor bit.listserv.xerox-l Xerox mailing list bit.listserv.xmailer