[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – October 2003


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 (OCT03, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    6926367  LISTSERV.BELIEFNET.COM (Windows 2000 Professional + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    2742463  DATAG.EXIMPACT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3    2282804  RLY1.YOUWINMAIL.COM (Windows NT 5.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4    2241448  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5    1091018  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     768102  WWW-TOPSITES.COM (Windows NT 5.2 Enterprise Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     624178  TOPSITEZ.US (Windows NT 5.2 Enterprise Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     547729  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  9     465272  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     418745  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     399405  MAILER.INFORMIT.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     380000  JCCMAILER01.JEWELCLAIMCENTER.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     369190  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 14     343319  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     342042  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 16     333477  LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     294807  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 18     292003  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     268932  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
 20     250724  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Oct 2003)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3067161  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     2793564  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  3     2182995  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     1478694  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  7     1034117  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      955611  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
  9      941690  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 10      806804  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 11      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      715540  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13      686625  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 14      606691  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 15      543651  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 16      535918  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3)
 17      489112  LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18      483493  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 19      473345  LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20      461722  LISTAS.STARMEDIA.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Oct 2003)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  2 10936  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3 10074  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  4  7986  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-18.8smp)
  5  6659  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  6  5609  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  7  4512  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  8  4505  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9  4361  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 10  4071  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 11  3911  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 12  3832  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13  3708  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 14  3556  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4)
 15  3470  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 16  2951  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 17  2845  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18  2496  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  2178  LISTSERV.UNL.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-17.7.xsmp)
 20  2098  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (OCT03, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     938992  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     547762  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  3     525699  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     461768  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     445724  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  6     426660  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  7     351558  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     346410  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9     332284  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 10     322323  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21)
 11     296655  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     273764  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.8)
 13     258904  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 14     241816  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     218715  WWW.IDUGDB2-L.ORG (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     207873  MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0)
 17     202189  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     202042  LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7)
 19     200593  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 20     194181  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Oct 2003)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      472934  MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      282485  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      265457  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  4      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6      160651  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
  7      142542  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      124855  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      116874  WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10      111227  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11       83223  SELFHELP@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12       77818  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13       63614  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 14       56190  ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15       54624  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 16       48740  FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 17       43908  GOURMET-ECLUB@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18       39320  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 19       38052  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 20       37877  CTWADVISORYBOARD-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)