[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – October 2000


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 (OCT00, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    4074967  SMTP1.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    3048177  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3    1240370  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     967050  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  5     959871  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     567204  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7     500343  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     484765  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  9     426606  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     403985  LISTS.SMARTPORTFOLIO.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     398714  MAIL1.YOUWINMAIL.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     394285  EMAIL.SUPERMARKETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     356347  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 14     338683  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 15     325999  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 16     324071  SEGATE (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 17     281130  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.14)
 18     277804  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     268803  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     243101  NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.2.16)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Oct 2000)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     5061537  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     4845156  LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     4125269  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     3067163  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     2525547  LISTAS.STARMEDIA.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     1923425  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     1725717  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     1314761  LISTSERV.EARTHWEB.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     1294639  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 11      852878  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 12      539188  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 13      535405  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 14      457706  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 15      456483  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 16      420825  LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      414413  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 18      315095  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3)
 19      296569  SMULTRON.EASE.ALGONET.SE (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20      286026  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.0.34)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Oct 2000)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1  8685  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  2  4031  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  3  3552  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.6)
  4  3184  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  5  2789  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  6  2607  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7  2540  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
  8  2482  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
  9  2420  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10  2322  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 11  1948  LISTS.AIESEC.ORG (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12  1817  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.0.34)
 13  1708  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14  1675  CRCVMS.UNL.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2)
 15  1666  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 16  1637  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17  1619  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 18  1551  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (OSF/1 V4.0f)
 19  1515  LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6)
 20  1491  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (OCT00, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    1240370  LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     976518  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     963245  LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7)
  4     961293  LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     725689  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     670988  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     545743  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     480809  JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6)
  9     403985  LISTS.SMARTPORTFOLIO.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     378529  LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 11     368195  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2)
 12     358705  MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0)
 13     346865  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     346839  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.14)
 15     338685  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 16     323607  ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     286250  NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.2.16)
 18     281079  LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 19     233982  LISTS.MSTAR.NET (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     230120  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Oct 2000)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      513826  HPJ2@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      309821  SKIMAPS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      267504  HPJ@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4      246727  REGARDS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      222615  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      211768  FOODTV@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      172488  MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      153995  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
 11      131498  MICROSOFT_SECURITY@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      129932  OLISPLITALERTS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13      127648  SECURITYUPDATE@LISTSERV.NTSECURITY.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14      122744  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      116874  WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      112631  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17      102963  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18      101178  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.7)
 19       83720  SELFHELP@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20       77279  THEONLINEINVESTOR@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b)