One of the Oldest Email Technology Companies Turns 25

LISTSERV® Endures as L-Soft’s Core Business

Bethesda, MD (February 13, 2019) – When Eric Thomas incorporated L-Soft in 1994, email was just starting to be used by the public, Netscape had not been released, email marketing did not exist, and social media was not even a pipe dream.

"My generation envisioned the world that we see today where the Internet is at the center of everything," said Thomas. "It was our dream, our life project, and we made it happen."

While attending college in Paris, Eric Thomas created the email discussion list software LISTSERV in 1986 at a time when only universities had access to the Internet; the World Wide Web would not be invented until 1989. By 1994, over 200 universities were using LISTSERV, and Thomas knew that there was a much larger demand for his software. This led him to found L-Soft with just $3,000 and his laptop, making him one of the first entrepreneurs to turn a networking platform into a business. It would be another 10 years before Facebook would be created.

"I didn't have a master plan, I didn't even have a business plan. What I did have was a clear vision, and the determination to make it happen," said Thomas. "For about a year, all I did was program, eat and sleep. It was a huge amount of work, but I just had to do it. I couldn't let my baby die."

Now, in an era where new social media and collaboration platforms seek the limelight, the use of email lists continues to develop as discussion groups remain widely used and organizations continue to engage in email marketing. This keeps L-Soft, the Bethesda, MD, based email technology company, as busy as ever.

During its 25th anniversary year, L-Soft will release LISTSERV 17.0, featuring a completely redesigned web interface to better accommodate an increasingly mobile user base. The new release features three modes to display the searchable online list archives, which for many long-running lists provide decades' worth of knowledge. The new forum and blog view options allow subscribers to read and participate in group discussions without necessarily using email. For organizations running announcement lists, the new HTML newsletter builder allows anyone to design and send responsive email newsletters with ease.

"The upcoming release is meant to modernize the ways that we have traditionally interacted with email lists," said Thomas. "People are so used to having to create a profile and sharing so much personal information off the bat. Not so with LISTSERV, and this new version makes it easier to participate without having to launch an email client."

L-Soft continues to serve the needs of government agencies, universities, businesses and non-profits that rely on dedicated communication channels, reliable information distribution and knowledge exchange.

Visit us at: www.lsoft.com

Learn more about L-Soft's history:
www.lsoft.com/lsoft25years