Fresno State Listserv Support


What is a Listserv?

Listserv is a convenient tool which allows faculty/staff personnel to create and maintain e-mail lists on the campus network or on the Internet. Users can choose to use Listserv as either a campus (or class) newsletter or as a moderated or unmoderated discussion group. The list size can range anywhere from a few students and professors to the entire campus community. The Listserv lists supported by Technology Services are:

  • Public discussion lists
  • Private discussion lists
  • Moderated list
  • Auto-responders
  • Announce-only lists

Advantages of using Listserv:

  1. A common e-mail program (like Outlook or Thunderbird) can not match the e-mail load of listserv. Most smtp servers enforce a maximum number of recipients for any one message, in order to prevent SPAM. 

  2. A Listserv can be moderated. A Listserv owner can configure the account to exclude noisome messages or subscribers.

  3. A Listserv has a searchable web archive option. The listserv can be configured to create a comprehensive archive of postings. The postings can be searched on the Listserv management site.