Mitch Turitz sent me the following exchange of messages which touches on
one of my pet peeves, the widespread misuse of the term LISTSERV when an
electronic discussion list is meant.

The following is a message from Rob Carlson of ALA to the ALA Council.
Following his statement is the message from Connie Newman of Lsoft
International, Inc.  that he referred to.  While AUTOCAT (unlike the ALA
lists) is run on LISTSERV software the same usage principle applies to us
as well:  AUTOCAT is an electronic discussion list/ a discussion list / a
list; it is NOT a LISTSERV.  LISTSERV is the software (trademarked)
provided by LSOFT.COM which enables us to run the list; it is the oldest
and best-known of several software packages which perform the same basic
function.

Please try to keep this distinction in mind when you refer to AUTOCAT or
any other list; they are Lists, NOT Listservs!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Judith Hopkins, Listowner of Autocat
     [log in to unmask]
     My home page: http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~ulcjh
     AUTOCAT home page:
     http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/cts/autocat/


>Hi All,
>
>The attached touches on something I've been harping about for quite
>some time, and now it's potentially becoming a legal issue.  "LISTSERV" is
>a registered trademark of L-Soft international, Inc., and is not to be used
>generically to describe a distribution list or discussion list.  Needless to
>say, L-Soft might not be so picky about our usage if we used their
>software, but we don't.  We don't want them making a test case out of
>us, either.
>
>So, please review all your web files, instruction sheets, etc., and change
>all references to "listserv" to either just "list" or "discussion list," or
>"distribution list."  I leave it to your best judgement as to how best to
>rephrase your text, but please do not use the word "listserv" in any form.
>
>Let me know if you have any questions.
>
>Rob
>
>>>> "Connie Newman" <[log in to unmask]> 9/24/98  11:32 am >>>
>It has come to our attention that you are using the
>term LISTSERV (R) to describe electronic mail
>distribution lists on your site,
>
>[specific URL deleted to protect the guilty; there are probably hundreds
>of references to "listserv" on the ALA web site]
>
>Unfortunately, that term is a registered trademark.
>
>It is a common mistake to use LISTSERV (R) as a
>generic term.  It would be helpful if you would
>replace it on your site with another phrase, such as
>*mailing list* or *announcement service*.
>
>We apologize if this causes any inconvenience.  Your
>attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
>
>Please contact me with any concerns or questions.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Connie Newman
>
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Connie Newman <[log in to unmask]>
>L-Soft international, Inc.
>http://www.lsoft.com
>

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( ___ )-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-( ___ )
 |   |                                               |   |
 |   |     Mitch Turitz, Serials Librarian           |   |
 |   |     San Francisco State University Library    |   |
 |   |     Internet: [log in to unmask]                 |   |
 |   |     http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~turitz           |   |
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