[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – February 2006


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 (FEB06, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     686033  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     566364  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     425409  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     422944  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  5     420167  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-37.ELsmp)
  6     396478  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  7     384368  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     362480  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9     354061  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     352778  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 11     349967  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     308531  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     294483  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8)
 14     267290  LISTES.LEMONDE.FR (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     263035  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 16     258820  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     253673  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     226402  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp)
 19     208194  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 20     205634  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (28 Feb 2006)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3767942  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     2177366  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-37.ELsmp)
  3     1772976  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  4     1206128  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  5     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  6     1021397  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      991047  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      980379  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      942154  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      850780  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 11      818234  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0)
 12      790894  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-37.ELsmp)
 13      778692  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      679668  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp)
 16      666018  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
 17      656209  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 18      609651  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19      604719  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20      575506  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (28 Feb 2006)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 42721  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  2 22427  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3 19990  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-37.ELsmp)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5  8852  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
  6  8037  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  7  6906  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  8  5760  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp)
  9  5742  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  5257  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 11  4697  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 12  4413  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-37.ELsmp)
 13  4365  MARIST (VM/SP 1.0)
 14  4304  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 15  4259  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 16  4099  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17  4082  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18  3775  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19  3754  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20  2845  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (FEB06, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     664948  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     426025  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  3     401442  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-37.ELsmp)
  4     389756  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  5     375589  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     363349  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     361824  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     355355  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9     353082  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 10     331401  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     287146  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8)
 12     267290  LISTES.LEMONDE.FR (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     266110  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 14     252777  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     251185  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     215516  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp)
 17     205261  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 18     201014  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp)
 19     188294  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     178920  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (28 Feb 2006)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      370049  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      122843  POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9)
  3      119848  SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4       90458  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.202.7-smp)
  5       80949  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
  6       78132  FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7       71563  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
  8       66027  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9       65820  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 10       64042  CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp)
 11       55049  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp)
 12       52817  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 13       51019  ARTINFO-L@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9)
 14       43369  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 15       42068  ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
 16       35966  L-SMEALZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 17       34136  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 18       34022  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 19       31696  JAGNEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20       31350  TESL-L@CUNYVM (VM/SP 4.0)