From:             Ricardo Mendes <[log in to unmask]>

>Hi,
>
>does any one know this software for mailing list - Lyris (from Shelby
>Group)?

Ricardo,

I had answered your message a couple of days ago, but it seems to have
been rejected by the moderator. (Interestingly, I posted a message to
the same list mere hours earlier that never went through a moderator.)

The "moderation" message, itself, is interesting, so I included it here:

>--- begin forwarded text
>
>Date:         Tue, 23 Sep 1997 14:42:09 +0200
>From: "L-Soft list server at SEARN (1.8c)" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject:      Message ("Your message dated Tue, 23 Sep 1997 08:48:57...")
>To: Vince Sabio <[log in to unmask]>
>
>Your  message dated  Tue,  23 Sep  1997 08:48:57  -0400  with subject  "Re:
>rurckner unknown" has been submitted to the moderator of the LSTOWN-L list:
>Eric Thomas <[log in to unmask]>.
>
>--- end forwarded text

Eric Thomas is, of course, the developer of LISTSERV. My reply to your
post was very complimentary of Lyris, which is a competing product of
LISTSERV.

One might wonder if there was a conflict of interest in the moderator. ;-)

Anyway, here is my reply. Please feel free to contact me if you have any
questions. For more information on Lyris, go to <http://www.lyris.com/>.
And while I'm here, the bounce processing program I mention in my post is
"SmartBounce"; for more info, go to <http://www.bsabio.com/SmartBounce/>.
(I didn't want to include that in the post lest it seem like I was
replying merely to push my own product -- despite the fact that I stated
right in the post that Lyris makes it obsolete.)

I hope this answers your questions ...

- Vince

--- begin forwarded text


Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 23:04:21 -0400
To: [log in to unmask]
From: Vince Sabio <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Lyris
Cc:
Bcc: John Buckman <[log in to unmask]>
X-Attachments:

From:             Ricardo Mendes <[log in to unmask]>

>Hi,
>
>does any one know this software for mailing list - Lyris (from Shelby
>Group)?

Yes.

>Is is safe? A good alternative to listserv or listproc?

I recently moved one of my mailing lists -- my largest one, in fact --
to a Lyris server.

I like it. Very much.

Now, in addition to Lyris, I currently run mailing lists on Majordomo
and LISTSERV, and have previously run lists on ListProc (for several
years) and Macjordomo (a Mac variant of the Unix beast). Thus, I have
a pretty good idea about the various features that are available on
the more (and less) popular list servers.

Taken as a whole, the non-Lyris servers all have some very nice features
for running mailing lists -- but you have to be an eclectic shopper,
and you'll typically find yourself saying, "Darn, I really like this
feature on list server X, but I really wish it also had this OTHER
feature that they have on list server Y." (Well, *I* do.)

The beauty of Lyris is that it really combines *all* of the best
features of the various servers I've become accustomed to, and plants
them squarely in a *single* server. It also has some features that are,
to my knowledge, impossible to find anywhere else -- like the ability
for any subscriber to forward a copy of any list posting to a specific
address, and automatically unsubscribe himself. No commands needed --
just forward ANY list mailing.

Closely tied to that feature is Lyris's ability to handle bounced mail
more efficiently than any other server I've ever used -- and I should
know, since I'm the guy who got so tired of bounce mail and limited
configurability and capability for bounced-mail handling (where it's
even available) that I wrote a now-somewhat-well-known application to do
it automatically. Though I have a financial stake in that application,
I still advise people to look to Lyris if they plan on running large
mailing lists. The bounced-mail capabilities, alone, make it a wise
choice.

(Speaking of that, have you ever had one of those bounces where the
address is not on your list, and you simply CANNOT figure out where the
bounce is coming from, for the LIFE of you? Well, if the bounce contains
the body of the message, you can figure it out. And if it contains the
message header, you can figure it out. Just a nice little by-product
for cases where the server sends bounced mail to the wrong address. The
rest of the time, Lyris handles it transparently to you.)

In addition to that, there are lots of other nice features -- a complete
Web interface for list administration (and server adminitration) AND for
users. For example, if someone wants to change his e-mail address on the
list, he can simply go to the Web interface and change it himself. No
more "my ISP changed names, can you change my e-mail address for me?"
Well, I still *receive* those messages -- but I have Eudora stationery
set up with the instructions for making the change via the Web interface.)

It also has built-in autoresponders that are easy to configure, "action
phrase" notification where you can instruct the server to take specific
actions (notify you, and/or return a pre-recorded message, and/or etc.)
in the event it detects (or doesn't detect, etc.) some specific text
within a message to the server.

There are lots more features, but this message is already getting way
too long. Put it this way: I really like the server. I like the other
servers I use, too (well, except for Majordomo ;-), but Lyris is just a
little bit better. (Or a lot, depending on which server you're used to.)

Standard disclaimer applies. In fact, not only do I NOT have any
financial association with the developers of Lyris, but my own bounce-
processing application would be rendered obsolete if everyone used
Lyris -- so you *know* I'm serious about this. <g>

It truly is a very innovative server. Try it -- you'll like it.

--- end forwarded text