[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – May 2013


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 (MAY13, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     786728  JISCMAIL.AC.UK (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  2     487996  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-5-686-bigmem)
  3     363776  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition)
  4     339923  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     305586  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  6     296899  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  7     271984  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  8     269297  LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  9     267043  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.1.1.el5)
 10     251806  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-308.16.1.el5)
 11     217242  DISCUSSIONS.EQ.EDU.AU (Linux 2.6.18-274.18.1.el5)
 12     216404  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 13     207790  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 14     196177  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15     188294  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.4.1.el5xen)
 16     178530  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 17     177868  LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 18     173080  PO.MISSOURI.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.4.1.el5PAE)
 19     170749  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 20     165016  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.58-0.6.2-default)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (30 May 2013)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3620601  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  2     3309797  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18-308.16.1.el5)
  3     1394892  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-308.16.1.el5)
  4     1303149  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.25.ELsmp)
  5     1259463  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  6     1232995  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64)
  7     1207079  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
  8     1188222  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-308.13.1.el5)
  9     1175064  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-103.ELsmp)
 10     1059036  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.1.1.el5)
 11      978557  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.58-0.6.2-default)
 12      959277  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 13      912533  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14      848083  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 4.0)
 15      827561  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.el5)
 16      817547  LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 3.0.34-0.7-default)
 17      763533  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 18      751295  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.4.1.el5xen)
 19      730556  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-308.el5)
 20      721956  LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (30 May 2013)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 39467  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 24450  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18-308.16.1.el5)
  3 16770  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  4 12741  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-103.ELsmp)
  5 12620  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.25.ELsmp)
  6  9788  LISTS.CLEMSON.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-164.11.1.el5)
  7  9599  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.1.1.el5)
  8  8328  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
  9  8005  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-308.el5)
 10  6792  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64)
 11  6654  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12  6393  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.58-0.6.2-default)
 13  5887  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 14  5577  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 15  5572  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-308.16.1.el5)
 16  4737  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 17  4386  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 18  4053  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
 19  3902  LISTS.QUEENSU.CA (Solaris 2.10)
 20  3684  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (MAY13, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     767451  JISCMAIL.AC.UK (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  2     473273  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-5-686-bigmem)
  3     354280  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition)
  4     335183  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     292441  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  6     288138  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  7     268863  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  8     262354  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.1.1.el5)
  9     261592  LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
 10     246821  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-308.16.1.el5)
 11     217103  DISCUSSIONS.EQ.EDU.AU (Linux 2.6.18-274.18.1.el5)
 12     215795  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 13     194435  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14     183051  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 15     177222  LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 16     174159  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 17     173638  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.4.1.el5xen)
 18     172555  PO.MISSOURI.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-348.4.1.el5PAE)
 19     168077  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 20     162111  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.58-0.6.2-default)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (30 May 2013)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      257763  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 3.0.34-0.7-default)
  2      109194  COMNET@HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-220.7.1.el6.x86_64)
  3       86994  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       74965  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       72327  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       69312  STUDENT-AT-TENNESSEE@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  7       66551  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       62026  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  9       61635  GLOBAL-LINKS@LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10       52803  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       50073  FOLKWAYS@SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12       47040  EXCEL@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
 13       45095  UICNEWS@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 14       44529  ESCRIU-ME@LISTSERV.UV.ES (Linux 2.6.32-5-xen-686)
 15       44053  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 16       41105  MOBCOMNEWSLETTER-L@DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.10)
 17       37250  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 18       36924  SKILLPORT-UHMAIN-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 19       36107  WORLDWIDEWORDS@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG (Linux 3.0.58-0.6.6-default)
 20       35744  FC-NYLIB@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)