[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – January 2005


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 (JAN05, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     973072  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     914042  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     597569  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  4     543228  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  5     519710  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     420086  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     387325  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8     334768  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9     330892  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     329923  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     295642  LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     275865  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 13     275829  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     274458  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 15     265457  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.26)
 16     225665  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     210080  LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.8)
 18     205002  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     201592  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     195499  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Jan 2005)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     4098831  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     1815356  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     1734776  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp)
  5     1543351  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  6     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  7     1112563  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  8     1081242  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
  9     1034117  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     1023799  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 11      901381  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      774571  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0)
 13      733613  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 14      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      717454  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
 16      649214  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 17      635358  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 18      612582  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19      611932  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20      544396  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Jan 2005)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 26430  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2 22013  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  3 21007  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5  7983  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
  6  6078  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  7  6067  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  8  5319  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
  9  5022  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  4955  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 11  4560  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12  4480  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 13  4199  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14  4120  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 15  4105  MARIST (VM/SP 1.0)
 16  4059  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 17  3569  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 18  3510  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  2944  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20  2417  LISTS.VCU.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-5)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (JAN05, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     820778  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     597611  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  3     548004  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  4     458367  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     430188  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     372873  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7     349640  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.26)
  8     325389  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9     315231  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     300767  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     279127  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 12     274562  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 13     223025  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     201014  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     193906  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     193690  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp)
 17     189947  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     175113  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 19     163001  LIST.SENIORWEB.NL (Windows 2000 Server)
 20     156995  SEGATE.SUNET.SE (Solaris 2.8)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Jan 2005)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      330830  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  2      282485  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      160651  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
  6      142542  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      124855  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      123249  SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  9      111227  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10       74674  CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.111.5-smp)
 11       72403  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 12       69609  FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 13       67867  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 14       66015  CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp)
 15       61204  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 16       59588  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 17       56190  ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18       54853  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 19       51351  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 20       37877  CTWADVISORYBOARD-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)