[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – April 2005


There are many possible ways to measure the relative "importance" or "size" of LISTSERV sites: number of lists, number of subscribers, number of messages delivered, etc. In most cases, the number of messages delivered is used to rank mailing list managers, because it is the most accurate measurement of the amount of activity on the server. But, depending on what you are looking for, other variables may be more appropriate. There are currently three LISTSERV "Top 20" lists, ranking the various servers according to:

In addition, you can view a list of the Top 20 lists in the network (by number of subscribers).

What do these numbers mean exactly?

The statistics are gathered daily by a monitor at L-Soft which polls all the LISTSERV sites that participate in the "open" LISTSERV network over the worldwide Internet. Corporate servers operating in a "closed" environment are not included.

The statistics are organized in monthly reports. The message volume figures are a flat average of the accumulated traffic for the entire month. Thus, a server that delivers 300,000 messages per month will show a daily average of 10,000 messages. In practice, there is a lot less traffic during the weekend, and even during business days there can be significant fluctuations (~30%). The list statistics (number of lists, number of subscribers, largest lists in the network) are measured as of the last day in the month.

For the current month, the message volume figures are averaged based on the number of days that have elapsed. In practice, the figures are not very meaningful in the first few days, especially if the month starts on a weekend. In that case it is best to refer to the previous month for more accurate figures.

A fourth "Top 20" list is available for the more technically oriented: Number of messages generated by the server. This corresponds to the number of mail messages created by the server while processing postings to its mailing lists. LISTSERV delivers its mail using an intelligent mail delivery function called DISTRIBUTE, which improves mail delivery times and reduces bandwidth usage by spreading the delivery chore over scores of participating servers. Each of these servers processes the recipients for its service area (typically its organization or campus). In most cases, DISTRIBUTE simply alters the manner in which the mail is delivered, and the number of messages forwarded to other sites for optimized delivery is roughly equal to the number of messages received by other sites for the same purpose. In some cases, however, this is not the case, either because the server elected to serve a much wider service area than its own organization, or because it is explicitly forwarding all its deliveries to another machine (for instance, many mainframe-based servers forward their mail to a workstation or PC for delivery).


Top 20 sites by volume delivered daily (APR05, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    1953602  LSRV01.PRETNEUCK.COM (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     899325  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     784845  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     610451  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     453503  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     434887  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     387480  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  8     377634  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     375649  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     369341  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 11     368241  LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     354535  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13     324144  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14     278483  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     274032  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
 16     263538  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 17     246199  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     240332  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     239839  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     223682  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (30 Apr 2005)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3732417  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     2189623  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp)
  3     1467877  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     1452432  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  5     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  6     1134357  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  7     1083786  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
  8     1047860  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  9     1034117  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      936126  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11      918143  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      752725  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13      739032  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0)
 14      731833  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      656660  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 17      652536  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18      621146  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 19      586606  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
 20      583926  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (30 Apr 2005)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 28278  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  2 26662  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3 25494  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5  9914  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  6  8280  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
  7  6002  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  8  5650  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
  9  5304  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  5131  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 11  4788  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12  4316  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 13  4270  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14  4235  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 15  4068  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 16  3766  MARIST (VM/SP 1.0)
 17  3726  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 18  3544  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  3361  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20  2490  LISTS.VCU.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-5)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (APR05, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     822493  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     610495  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     390755  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  4     386684  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     382357  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     370596  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  7     357985  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     353590  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  9     345313  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 10     335298  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     324919  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 12     266614  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 13     239166  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     238014  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     232931  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     217547  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp)
 17     208291  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 18     205915  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     187448  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 20     170780  LISTES.LEMONDE.FR (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (30 Apr 2005)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      343701  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  2      282485  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      160651  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
  4      142542  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      124855  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6      123519  SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  7      122843  POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9)
  8      111227  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9       80199  CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.151-smp)
 10       75365  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 11       73279  FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 12       65334  CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp)
 13       61663  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 14       58835  L-PSU-TRAVEL-PROGRAM@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 15       58737  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 16       58556  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 17       57911  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 18       56190  ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19       52821  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 20       38997  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)