[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – June 2011


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 (JUN11, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     594052  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5xen)
  2     397335  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  3     389521  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-5-686-bigmem)
  4     344207  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     316362  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
  6     292238  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  7     207604  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  8     194859  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  9     187720  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 10     183411  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 11     180156  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
 12     177654  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 13     170144  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 14     169495  MAIL.MYVALOTTERY.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     169295  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 16     167197  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 17     165868  LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     155386  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 19     148557  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20     147091  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (30 Jun 2011)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3044803  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18-238.5.1.el5)
  2     2951634  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     1236540  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  4     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5     1168302  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
  6     1059036  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
  7     1048790  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.29.ELsmp)
  8      995853  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  9      995830  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.25.ELsmp)
 10      981759  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 11      961820  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 12      954059  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
 13      907518  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14      892579  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
 15      854511  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 16      853815  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 17      834465  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 18      827490  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19      751295  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.1.10.el5.xs5.5.0.51xen)
 20      738913  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.33.1.ELsmp)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (30 Jun 2011)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 33872  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 28049  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3 21834  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18-238.5.1.el5)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5 11849  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.29.ELsmp)
  6  9827  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.25.ELsmp)
  7  9599  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
  8  8981  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
  9  7311  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-238.1.1.el5)
 10  6341  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 11  6296  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12  6159  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 13  5954  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 14  5719  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32.12-0.7-xen)
 15  5602  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 16  4816  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
 17  4697  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 18  4234  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 19  4068  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 20  4023  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (JUN11, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     387779  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  2     377689  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-5-686-bigmem)
  3     339157  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  4     306794  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
  5     280884  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  6     203210  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  7     189200  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  8     182799  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
  9     175422  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 10     174031  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
 11     170186  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 12     166141  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 13     165297  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 14     156560  LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     152740  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 16     146502  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 17     145596  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 18     145351  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19     135583  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32.12-0.7-xen)
 20     133307  BCU.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (30 Jun 2011)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      221022  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.27.54-0.2-default)
  2       86994  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  3       75726  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       72327  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       66547  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       63006  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       52803  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       49032  COMNET@HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
  9       44446  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 10       43683  FOLKWAYS@SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 11       41517  JAGNEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 12       40918  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 13       39373  GLOBAL-LINKS@LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14       37547  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 15       36946  SKILLPORT-UHMAIN-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 16       36675  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17       36492  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       35137  FC-NYLIB@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 19       35088  STUDENT-AT-TENNESSEE@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 20       34584  TCUATHLETICSDIRECTOR@LISTSERV.TCU.EDU (Windows Server 2003)