Retiring division listservs: Your options

APA is retiring all APA-managed division listservs on November 15, 2026. Lists remain readable for 30 days after that, then access ends permanently. 

For many divisions, the listserv has been the primary mode of communicating. Our goal is that every division comes out of this with a working home for its conversation to continue and perhaps even improve, with new features and controls.  

Every division is eligible for a free APA Community space. There is no cost and no technical setup required on your end.

What you get:

• A permanent, searchable archive of every discussion 

• A file library for your division’s documents

• Group level forums

• Direct messaging

• A member directory

• Real-time moderation

One honest difference worth knowing: Communities is web-first. Members get email digests and can reply by email, but search, files, and older threads live behind a login members already have. If your division's culture is built around reply-all email, expect an adjustment period. Most divisions find the live feed alone is worth it.

If your division already has an active community space: nothing. Your division members will be added automatically before November 15, so your audience carries over. Your community managers will hear from your division liaison with details. If you’d rather we didn’t migrate your members, tell us by October 30.

If your division doesn’t have a community space yet: we'll create one, but we need two things from you by October 30—confirmation that you want a space, and the name and email of at least one person to serve as your community manager. You can email both to your division’s liaison. Divisions that don’t respond will see their listserv close without a replacement in place.

Your listserv history 

We’re working to ensure divisions can access their listserv archives before access ends, and will share details as soon as the mechanics are finalized. Moderators will receive separate instructions. Watch for that message—the 30-day window after November 15 is firm.

Divisions are free to make their own arrangements. APA doesn’t endorse, vet, or support outside platforms, but these are popular free and low-cost options:

• Groups.io is the closest thing to what you had. It is email-native, with a web archive. Free up to 100 members; $20 a month or $220 per year removes the subscriber limit and adds files, calendars, polls, and subgroups. It can also import an existing archive.

• Google Groups is free with any Google account and works entirely by email, although the moderation tooling is limited and the admin interface is dated.

For announcement-only lists, where a few people post and everyone else reads, a newsletter tool is simpler than anything with threads. Buttondown is free to 100 subscribers, $9 per month beyond that with a 50% nonprofit discount. EmailOctopus and Sender currently offer some of the largest free tiers.

Note: If your division’s discussions ever touch clinical material or case consultation, consumer social platforms—Facebook Groups, in particular—offer no meaningful confidentiality controls and can expose member participation to people outside the group. Whatever you choose, look for something with private membership and a controlled archive.

If you have questions about the transition or aren’t sure which option is right for your division, please reach out to your division’s liaison—we’re glad to help you think it through. Questions about outside platforms should go to those vendors directly.