[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – February 2005


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 (FEB05, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     937385  PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     871695  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     581229  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  4     492574  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     441156  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  6     411861  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     404835  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  8     381858  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  9     381321  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 10     378401  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     364586  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 12     338561  LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     307795  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     295827  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.26)
 15     264994  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 16     262072  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     244623  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     235788  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19     234759  LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.8)
 20     218187  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (28 Feb 2005)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3584148  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     2020824  DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     1981203  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp)
  4     1593315  LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     1313104  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  6     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  7     1097731  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  8     1082150  LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1)
  9     1034117  ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     1032865  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 11      914020  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      885392  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13      773850  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0)
 14      743974  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 15      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      660828  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 17      627734  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 18      622325  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19      602342  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
 20      598490  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (28 Feb 2005)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 26582  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2 22650  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp)
  3 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  4 19009  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  5  9673  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  6  8248  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
  7  6151  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  8  5502  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
  9  5217  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  5025  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 11  4649  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12  4245  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 13  4239  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14  4170  MARIST (VM/SP 1.0)
 15  4160  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
 16  4063  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
 17  3648  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 18  3517  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  3237  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20  2431  LISTS.VCU.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-5)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (FEB05, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     845862  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     581271  OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0)
  3     432063  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     424314  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5     390725  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.26)
  6     387476  MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a)
  7     385099  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  8     371009  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3)
  9     367666  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 10     360373  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-27.0.2.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     360305  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     268113  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 13     259691  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 14     236396  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     228919  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     214383  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     209839  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp)
 18     199113  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3)
 19     186945  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 20     181265  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (28 Feb 2005)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      335854  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  2      282485  GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      222483  EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4      178297  EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  5      160651  CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6)
  6      142542  CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7      124855  MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8      123375  SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
  9      111227  BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10       75992  CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.111.30-smp)
 11       73330  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 12       71263  FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 13       67765  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1)
 14       65760  CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp)
 15       60744  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 16       60148  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 17       56190  ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18       55643  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8)
 19       52293  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
 20       37877  CTWADVISORYBOARD-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)