[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – June 2010


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 (JUN10, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    8532346  LISTSERV.ARMY.PENTAGON.MIL (Linux (S/390) 2.6.16.60-0.27-default)
  2     496718  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-194.3.1.el5xen)
  3     377301  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  4     342716  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  5     298725  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  6     298230  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  7     252911  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  8     204637  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  9     202685  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 10     201357  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 11     187625  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12     175275  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 13     167444  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 14     161514  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 15     158489  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 16     151806  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
 17     149822  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 18     148762  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 19     147490  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 20     144283  MAIL.MYVALOTTERY.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (30 Jun 2010)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     2657769  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-63.ELsmp)
  2     2614830  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  4     1153584  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  5     1126254  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  6     1122855  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
  7     1058825  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
  8      957529  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.8.ELsmp)
  9      919179  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 10      887736  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 11      873167  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 12      866464  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
 13      866317  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
 14      833983  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 15      806689  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 16      732251  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17      730480  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 18      702301  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19      692161  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.EL)
 20      684177  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (30 Jun 2010)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 30380  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 20983  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-63.ELsmp)
  3 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  4 10699  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.8.ELsmp)
  5  8724  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  6  8647  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
  7  8348  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
  8  8205  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  9  8132  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
 10  6979  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-164.6.1.el5)
 11  5960  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 12  5853  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 13  5845  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 14  5640  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15  5427  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 16  5392  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17  4717  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
 18  4502  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 19  4323  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 20  4000  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (JUN10, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1   61292733  LISTSERV.ARMY.PENTAGON.MIL (Linux (S/390) 2.6.16.60-0.27-default)
  2     366230  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  3     332330  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  4     294419  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     285054  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  6     242945  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  7     201675  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  8     201380  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
  9     183361  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 10     178530  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 11     175271  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 12     164954  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 13     159416  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 14     153293  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 15     149962  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
 16     147010  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 17     143618  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18     135355  LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     133612  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20     129072  LIST.UVM.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (30 Jun 2010)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      201409  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18.8-0.9-default)
  2       87317  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  3       76632  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       73547  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       66935  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       63709  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       52803  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       48139  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
  9       44570  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 10       43045  EPLUS@VM1.HQADMIN.DOE.GOV (VM/SP 3.0)
 11       42876  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 12       37919  FOLKWAYS@SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 13       37018  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 14       36948  SKILLPORT-UHMAIN-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 15       36764  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 16       36585  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17       34583  TCUATHLETICSDIRECTOR@LISTSERV.TCU.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 18       34477  MEDPROS-L@DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.10)
 19       34149  STUDENT-AT-TENNESSEE@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 20       33848  FC-NYLIB@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)