[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – October 1998


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 (OCT98, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    3401206  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    1555908  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     702778  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  4     686935  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  5     679039  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     614478  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     465286  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8     441454  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.5.1)
  9     428911  SEGATE (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 10     352864  LISTS.PSU.EDU (VM/ESA 2.2)
 11     349413  ETO.UNTPDC.ORG (IRIX 6.2 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 12     349036  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 13     294478  LISTSERV.GMD.DE (OpenVMS V7.1 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 14     290257  NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.0.34)
 15     255993  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 16     247483  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 17     231259  H-NET.MSU.EDU (AIX 4.1)
 18     226066  AMERICAN.EDU (AIX 3.2.4)
 19     216038  LISTSERV-MAIL.SURFNET.NL (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     212137  DIST.LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.2)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Oct 1998)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     4737150  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  2     4668991  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     2808996  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  4     2670114  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  5     1941495  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     1059414  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7      498257  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  8      457605  LISTSERV.MSN.COM (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      402018  LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 10      370529  LISTSERV.EARTHWEB.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 11      287355  LISTSERV.INTERNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 12      222845  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 13      213193  LISTS.PSU.EDU (VM/ESA 2.2)
 14      209886  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 15      177738  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 16      171518  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.2)
 17      155420  LISTS.DISCOVERY.COM (IRIX 6.2)
 18      153295  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 19      135700  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.5.1)
 20      129100  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.4)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Oct 1998)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1  7124  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  2  4707  LISTSERV.OKSTATE.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  3  2432  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  4  2069  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.2)
  5  1978  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.5.1)
  6  1791  LISTS.PSU.EDU (VM/ESA 2.2)
  7  1625  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8  1522  LISTS.AIESEC.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  9  1280  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 10  1108  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 11  1060  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 12  1058  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 13  1023  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 14   970  UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (VM/ESA 2.1.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15   908  CRCVMS.UNL.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2)
 16   898  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.4)
 17   885  LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18   879  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.5.1)
 19   871  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 20   862  AMERICAN.EDU (AIX 3.2.4)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (OCT98, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    1555908  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     899795  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  3     880076  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  4     833104  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  5     814147  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     710078  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7     592557  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8     533095  MITVMA (VM/ESA 2.2.0)
  9     518927  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.5.1)
 10     408712  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 11     378014  NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.0.34)
 12     375416  ETO.UNTPDC.ORG (IRIX 6.2 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 13     367673  LISTS.PSU.EDU (VM/ESA 2.2)
 14     298245  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 15     294099  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 16     283625  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 17     281176  H-NET.MSU.EDU (AIX 4.1)
 18     280284  AMERICAN.EDU (AIX 3.2.4)
 19     212394  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 3.51 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 20     194098  LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Oct 1998)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      264576  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  2      192311  SUBSCRIBERS-JAVASCRIPTS-COM@LISTSERV.EARTHWEB.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  3      148051  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  4      131755  DIETCITY-AOL@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  5       98375  DIETCITY@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6       94734  SYMPOSIUM-WEBCAST@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7       90443  DEVELOPER-COM@LISTSERV.EARTHWEB.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8       84949  SELFHELP@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  9       79078  MICROSOFT_SECURITY@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 10       74335  INTERNET-WORLD-CIRCULATION@LISTSERV.INTERNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 11       68607  NETGUIDE@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 12       66507  ABOUTWORKNEWS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 13       63983  ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 14       61511  DATAMATION-L@LISTSERV.EARTHWEB.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 15       51906  TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 16       47613  WEBREFERENCE-UPDATE@LISTSERV.INTERNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 17       44573  MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 18       42174  SEARCH-ENGINE-REPORT@LISTSERV.INTERNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 19       38881  SNACKS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 20       38389  MOMSONLINE@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1a)