[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – May 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 (MAY01, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    4113354  CHEWBACCA5.YESMAIL.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    3373283  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3    2728562  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4    2101833  MAILSVRSQL.CLEARFLOW.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5    1111764  MAILSVR11.EASYWINNING.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6    1108919  LISTSERV.ELOTTONET.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7    1073404  MAILSVRSQL.KEVINVYE.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8    1061557  MAILSVRRS.KEVINVYE.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9    1018173  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
 10     944452  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     900178  LISTSERV.BELIEFNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     891841  EWMAIL.EASYWINNING.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     882611  MAILSVRSQL.EASYWINNING.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     649136  LSERV.OIN3.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     641763  LSERV.PMN00.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     590761  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 17     563195  EWMAIL2.EASYWINNING.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     482307  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
 19     440228  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     427881  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 May 2001)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     5931898  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     4864165  LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     4821783  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     3067161  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     2133957  LISTAS.STARMEDIA.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     2066914  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     1442203  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
  9     1210983  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      670186  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 11      602074  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 12      582116  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 13      541456  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 14      512535  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      483930  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3)
 16      477353  LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      443901  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18      370976  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 19      317342  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 20      312934  DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 May 2001)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 10381  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  2  4145  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.6)
  3  3532  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  4  3126  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  5  3083  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  6  3014  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  7  2875  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8  2730  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
  9  2664  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10  2004  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11  1998  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.0.34)
 12  1973  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13  1921  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 14  1877  CRCVMS.UNL.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2)
 15  1819  LISTS.AIESEC.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16  1764  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 17  1731  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 18  1719  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  1670  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 20  1617  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (MAY01, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    3373286  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    1011727  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  3    1002286  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     942924  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     736555  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     587440  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     477833  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     477303  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  9     383206  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 10     366499  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 11     352653  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 12     308295  MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0)
 13     299892  NEWS.DIETSMART.COM (Windows 2000 Professional + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     289587  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 15     276485  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.16)
 16     274762  LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.2.16)
 17     272941  LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     270857  LIST.PROMOTIONSERVER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     263371  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     240125  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.7 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 May 2001)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      425733  HPJ2@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      337958  FOODTV@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      282309  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4      262326  MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      258250  REGARDS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6      256029  SKIMAPS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      216001  HPJ@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      161062  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 11      160777  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.7)
 12      157361  MICROSOFT_SECURITY@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13      148616  THE-SCIENTIST-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14      127172  VULNTRAQ@LISTSERV.NTSECURITY.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      125404  OLISPLITALERTS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      124814  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      116874  WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18      112152  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19      111164  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20      101670  MONEYDAILY@LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)