[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – August 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 (AUG10, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     488775  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-194.3.1.el5xen)
  2     392082  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     366708  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  4     356045  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  5     341919  LSERVT1.NRAMEDIA.ORG (Windows Server "Longhorn" ServerStandard Server)
  6     307049  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  7     268892  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  8     243000  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
  9     232420  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 10     222906  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 11     205063  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12     203920  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
 13     195068  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.EL)
 14     192855  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 15     182008  LIST.SA.GOV.AU (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 16     180421  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 17     175898  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 18     174643  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19     174102  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 20     154182  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Aug 2010)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     2907421  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-63.ELsmp)
  2     2586640  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     1253784  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
  4     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5     1198050  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  6     1154837  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  7     1085001  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.8.ELsmp)
  8     1059036  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
  9     1037835  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 10      960379  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 11      922949  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
 12      872060  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 13      854540  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
 14      827952  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15      780662  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 16      777563  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 17      762909  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 18      701290  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
 19      700428  LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 20      692161  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.EL)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Aug 2010)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 38962  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 25651  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-63.ELsmp)
  3 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  4 10994  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.8.ELsmp)
  5  9599  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
  6  8722  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  7  8576  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  8  8548  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  9  7000  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-164.6.1.el5)
 10  6090  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 11  5998  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 12  5913  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 13  5863  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14  5761  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15  5492  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 16  5484  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 17  4868  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
 18  4553  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 19  3999  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 20  3805  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (AUG10, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     387097  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  2     353643  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.16.ELsmp)
  3     345393  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  4     297756  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  5     258446  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  6     240690  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
  7     227967  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  8     204142  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  9     198155  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.2.1.el5)
 10     196029  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 11     192881  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 12     182008  LIST.SA.GOV.AU (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 13     177767  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 14     173924  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.EL)
 15     173010  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 16     172616  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17     167852  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18     148365  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 19     146420  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 20     145924  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Aug 2010)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      203507  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18.8-0.9-default)
  2       87274  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  3       76374  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       73547  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       66968  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       63623  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       52803  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       49526  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
  9       48677  COMNET@HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 10       44548  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       43045  EPLUS@VM1.HQADMIN.DOE.GOV (VM/SP 3.0)
 12       42851  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 13       39368  STUDENT-AT-TENNESSEE@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14       39131  FOLKWAYS@SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 15       37188  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 16       36947  SKILLPORT-UHMAIN-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 17       36752  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       36570  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 19       35539  JAGNEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 20       34583  TCUATHLETICSDIRECTOR@LISTSERV.TCU.EDU (Windows Server 2003)