[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – December 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 (DEC03, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1    7740040  LISTSERV.BELIEFNET.COM (Windows 2000 Professional + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2    1876543  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3    1065605  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     547419  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  5     480789  MAILER.INFORMIT.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     469227  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     404916  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     358094  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     333547  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
 10     295097  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
 11     290664  LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     283848  WALLACE.POGO.COM (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     253042  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 14     223092  LISTSERV.CAMPBELLKITCHEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     219444  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     218326  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 17     205947  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 18     204596  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.8)
 19     186430  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21)
 20     179323  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)

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

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3067161  EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     3034431  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  3     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     1739479  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     1517746  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     1010864  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  9      980227  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
 10      945489  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 11      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      704492  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13      692590  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 14      606156  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 15      542219  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 16      537691  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/ESA 2.3.0)
 17      530103  ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3)
 18      498352  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4)
 19      494699  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 20      489112  LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

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

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  2 13450  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  3 13393  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-20.8smp)
  4 11153  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5  6997  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4)
  6  6281  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  7  5699  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  8  4592  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9  4358  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  4234  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 11  3989  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 12  3749  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 13  3721  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14  3618  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 15  3544  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 16  3011  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 17  2901  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18  2541  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  2203  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 (DEC03, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     787587  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     547452  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  3     467550  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     452949  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     435116  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  6     399807  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7     283848  WALLACE.POGO.COM (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     259738  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
  9     257935  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 10     240850  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21)
 11     235677  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.8)
 12     227394  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 13     222615  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     215635  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     174855  MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/SP 3.0)
 16     170785  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     165825  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     154570  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     150391  LIST.SENIORWEB.NL (Windows 2000 Server)
 20     150378  LISTSERV.ENET.COM.CN (SunOS 5.7)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Dec 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      272051  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       83229  SELFHELP@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12       77713  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 13       64539  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 14       56190  ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15       55424  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 16       51649  FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 17       48181  CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 18       43990  GOURMET-ECLUB@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19       40503  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 20       39721  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)