[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – September 2000


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 (SEP00, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    4325611  SMTP1.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    2984271  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3    1113162  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     989505  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  5     958339  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     875631  MEMBERS.ALLADVANTAGE.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     554249  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8     551554  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  9     495953  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     430063  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     398356  LISTS.SMARTPORTFOLIO.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     355412  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 13     344676  EMAIL.SUPERMARKETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     342400  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 15     323053  SEGATE (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 16     300615  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     298709  MAIL1.YOUWINMAIL.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     287493  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     282399  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 20     258578  LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (30 Sep 2000)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     4873143  LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     4278904  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     4093505  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     3067163  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     2527092  LISTAS.STARMEDIA.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     1906403  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     1724137  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     1309113  LISTSERV.EARTHWEB.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     1260301  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 11      824087  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 12      519116  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 13      513404  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 14      457399  LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      444044  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 16      433611  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 17      395457  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 18      307025  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3)
 19      304924  TBINET.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20      296480  SMULTRON.EASE.ALGONET.SE (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (30 Sep 2000)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1  8619  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  2  3844  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  3  3139  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  4  2722  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  5  2613  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.6)
  6  2549  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7  2469  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
  8  2428  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  9  2376  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10  2260  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 11  1932  LISTS.AIESEC.ORG (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12  1747  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Solaris 2.6)
 13  1659  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14  1630  CRCVMS.UNL.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2)
 15  1623  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 16  1599  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 17  1587  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.0.34)
 18  1579  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 19  1496  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (OSF/1 V4.0f)
 20  1483  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (SEP00, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    1113162  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     985779  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  3     960966  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     930988  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     709884  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     670373  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     555147  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     547198  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  9     398356  LISTS.SMARTPORTFOLIO.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     397095  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 11     367440  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 12     365734  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     348105  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     319206  LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     310834  MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0)
 16     306204  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.14)
 17     282540  NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.0.36)
 18     282401  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 19     271681  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 20     267398  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (30 Sep 2000)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      525718  HPJ2@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      318888  SKIMAPS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      259065  HPJ@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4      240764  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      239911  REGARDS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      174626  FOODTV@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      160585  MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      152017  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 11      130621  MICROSOFT_SECURITY@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      129983  OLISPLITALERTS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13      127642  SECURITYUPDATE@LISTSERV.NTSECURITY.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14      122042  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      114858  WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      113823  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      101117  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18       96227  SSA_ENEWS@WWW.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.7)
 19       83709  SELFHELP@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20       76611  THEONLINEINVESTOR@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)