Is there anything out there that combines a listserv with a database?
January 1, 2010 11:56 AM   Subscribe

My company is looking for something that that combines a listserv with a database and lets me store info, associate it with listserv members, and access everything online.

I'm working on a project that involves collaborating with many people and sharing their input with everyone involved, so I'm looking for a listserv.

My bosses, meanwhile, want to collect and store information that people we're working with share with us (photo, bio, website, traffic stats, etc.).

Instead of working with two different tools, is there one software that is both a listserv AND a database, and that associates the info with the member the info belongs to?

For example, I know most listservs have a "files" section and a "photo" section. But I don't want one section for everyone's info. Ideally, I want the photo, bio, etc. to be associated with the person it belongs to. And the bosses want online access to this info.

Anything like that out there? Thanks for your help!
posted by Jennifer S. to Technology (8 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Basecamp, google wave, etc.
posted by iamabot at 12:10 PM on January 1, 2010


Response by poster: Bot, we've considered these, but currently if at all possible we'd really like a listserv that uses email to collaborate. I don't think Basecamp and GWave work that way.
posted by Jennifer S. at 12:21 PM on January 1, 2010


I think you're probably looking at twiki with some plugins, or something like MajorDomo/MajorCool list serve with some basic bio stuff written in with it so you can get at that.

Everything does email, so maybe start looking for bulletin boards that have what you want instead of going at it from the listserv angle (which is really going to limit you).
posted by iamabot at 12:57 PM on January 1, 2010


Possibly overkill?
posted by flabdablet at 1:02 PM on January 1, 2010


Response by poster: @iamabot: "Everything does email"?

The reason I wanted to go with a listserv is that I am working with people who are comfortable with email, so I want the group to collaborate via email. I don't want the pushback and learning curve I'd have with anything else I can think of...

But I'll look into a BBS. Suggestions?
posted by Jennifer S. at 2:38 PM on January 1, 2010


Lyris is a listmanager used by a decent number of trade associations and nonprofits. It stores user information in a relational database which you can query directly, and has an API to connect to other systems.
posted by me & my monkey at 5:28 PM on January 1, 2010


I've written something to tie an LDAP database to a Mailman mailing list. It was kind of purpose built but I'm doing a few more deployments, although it's still rough around the edges to suggest for general use. Probably more bare bones than you want, but let me know if you'd be interested in the code.

I'm planning to put up a page for it soon anyway. I'll try to get back and post the link to it.
posted by vsync at 4:21 PM on January 2, 2010


Response by poster: Vsync, thanks, love to have a link! We've got a coder who can work with it.
posted by Jennifer S. at 12:45 PM on January 4, 2010


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