[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – October 2009


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 (OCT09, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     471359  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  2     464072  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  3     453450  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  4     436390  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.18.el5xen)
  5     428504  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  6     356679  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  7     309327  MAESTRO.INDEPENDENTTRAVELER.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  8     279063  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
  9     268731  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 10     261231  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 11     250646  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 12     249123  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 13     237664  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.ELsmp)
 14     237513  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15     234441  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 16     221757  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 17     209489  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 18     201325  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 19     200371  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20     198161  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Oct 2009)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     2519069  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  2     2374986  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-57.ELsmp)
  3     1444284  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  4     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5     1176518  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  6     1056334  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
  7     1042579  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  8     1027928  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  9      993316  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 10      911929  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 11      851951  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 12      832083  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
 13      830697  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.ELsmp)
 14      784470  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-58.EL)
 15      783939  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 16      766014  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17      752213  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.8-smp)
 18      703634  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.13.ELsmp)
 19      692161  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.EL)
 20      658836  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Oct 2009)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 28115  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 26528  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3 23345  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-57.ELsmp)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5 13112  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  6 10130  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
  7  8662  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  8  7295  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.ELsmp)
  9  6748  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-128.1.10.el5)
 10  6269  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 11  5818  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 12  5408  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.8-smp)
 13  5202  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14  5182  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15  5047  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
 16  5028  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17  4441  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 18  4393  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 19  3872  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 20  3561  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (OCT09, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     465350  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  2     445904  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  3     443996  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  4     415202  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  5     345773  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  6     276263  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
  7     266657  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  8     258667  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  9     245802  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 10     243858  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 11     238942  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12     234443  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 13     233551  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.ELsmp)
 14     218522  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 15     195381  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 16     193859  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 17     191798  LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU (Linux (S/390) 2.6.5-7.316-s390x)
 18     185870  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19     185485  LIST.UVM.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
 20     183965  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Oct 2009)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      187293  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18.8-0.9-default)
  2      122840  POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9)
  3       89963  ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  4       77464  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       74042  E-ARTACADEMY@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9)
  6       72442  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       66289  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       65322  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  9       64727  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 10       52804  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       45963  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-58.EL)
 12       45118  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 13       44140  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 14       43045  EPLUS@VM1.HQADMIN.DOE.GOV (VM/SP 3.0)
 15       42109  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.ELsmp)
 16       36950  SKILLPORT-UHMAIN-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 17       36799  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       36793  STUDENT-AT-TENNESSEE@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19       36723  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 20       36630  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)