A social history of Bitnet and Listserv, 1985-1991

Author

Grier, David Alan ; Campbell, Mary

Author_Institution

Honors Program, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC, USA

Volume

22

Issue

2

fYear

2000

Firstpage

32

Lastpage

41

Abstract

After the engineers had built computer networks, users had to build the social networks that made them useful. Listserv, the combined mailing list and file server, was an important tool for those interested in building network-based organizations. It first appeared on Bitnet, an academic network based on IBM computers. The early versions of Listserv became operational in the mid-1980s and its early archives show how network users learned to use the software and, perhaps more importantly, how to manage network-based organizations.

Keywords

IBM computers; electronic mail; file servers; history; social aspects of automation; wide area networks; Bitnet; IBM computers; Listserv; academic network; archives; computer networks; file server; mailing list; network users; network-based organizations; social history; social networks; Communication system operations and management; Computer network management; Computer networks; Educational institutions; Executive Committee; File servers; History; Social network services; Software maintenance; Software tools;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Annals of the History of Computing, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1058-6180

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/85.841135

Filename

841135