Mailing Lists -- Listproc History

Listproc was the first mailing list software created for Unix systems.

Listproc was originally developed for Unix computers by Anastasios Kotsikonas (“Tasos”) at Boston University in the 1980’s. It became widely used, and is now supported by the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN).

When Listproc was first developed, it was called Unix LISTSERV since the listserv name had come to be thought of as a generic word for mailing lists as a result of its widespread use on BITNET.

However, the Unix LISTSERV name annoyed Eric Thomas, the developer of Listserv, and when he started the L-Soft company he became worried that potential name confusion could affect his sales. To resolve this situation, versions of Listproc before 6.0c are still called “Unix Listserv”, but all later versions were renamed ListProcessor, or Listproc for short.