[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – February 2001


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 (FEB01, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    3652565  CHEWBACCA1.YESMAIL.NET (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    3236931  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3    2224107  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4    1456488  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  5    1095410  LISTSERV.ELOTTONET.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6    1044425  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     768055  MYLISTMAILING.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     678157  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  9     658089  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 10     649762  LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     511738  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     459753  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 13     452513  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     359202  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 15     346672  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 16     335331  LISTS.SMARTPORTFOLIO.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     321255  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.16)
 18     287281  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     280073  LISTS.MSTAR.NET (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     263180  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.7 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (28 Feb 2001)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     5755015  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     4863288  LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     4568882  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     3067161  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     2201982  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     2134415  LISTAS.STARMEDIA.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     1733912  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     1335059  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 10      826110  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 11      599848  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 12      531449  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 13      517649  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 14      473005  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 15      465643  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3)
 16      458116  LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      418168  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 18      331424  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19      330423  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 20      309219  DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (28 Feb 2001)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1  8582  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  2  4049  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  3  3448  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  4  3356  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.6)
  5  3095  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  6  2905  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  7  2771  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8  2600  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9  2562  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 10  2536  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 11  1945  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12  1917  LISTS.AIESEC.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13  1878  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.0.34)
 14  1830  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 15  1797  CRCVMS.UNL.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2)
 16  1706  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17  1668  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 18  1653  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 19  1593  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 20  1568  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (FEB01, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    2224109  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    1451334  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  3    1124857  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4    1041950  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     828815  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     768115  MYLISTMAILING.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     673153  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  8     673123  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     571735  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     459756  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 11     411964  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 12     392173  MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0)
 13     387483  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.16)
 14     367249  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     362581  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 16     335331  LISTS.SMARTPORTFOLIO.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     291733  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 18     287016  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     280328  NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.2.16)
 20     279700  LISTS.MSTAR.NET (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (28 Feb 2001)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      460542  HPJ2@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      284665  HPJ@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      258338  REGARDS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4      258216  SKIMAPS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      257495  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      222193  MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      221704  FOODTV@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      158896  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 11      137648  MICROSOFT_SECURITY@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      129800  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.7)
 13      129440  OLISPLITALERTS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14      127659  VULNTRAQ@LISTSERV.NTSECURITY.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      124813  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      116874  WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      112681  THE-SCIENTIST-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18      111994  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19      109534  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20       90242  STREAMING_MEDIA@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)