[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – December 2006


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 (DEC06, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     484856  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     428437  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     356813  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server)
  4     292033  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  5     277842  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.3.ELsmp)
  6     273431  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  7     271046  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  8     259881  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  9     259517  MAILSENDER.ZOOMERANG.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     247191  EMA3LSV01.CNN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 11     233500  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 12     232605  LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13     229283  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 14     193110  MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15     192078  LISTSERV.FUSEPOINT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16     191024  PLAYBILLCLUB.HOSTING.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 17     170616  LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)
 18     163783  WILDEBEEST.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 19     162385  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8)
 20     162194  LISTS.AIESEC.NET (Linux 2.4.27-2-686-smp)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Dec 2006)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3924286  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     2358292  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-47.ELsmp)
  3     2102370  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  4     1532644  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  6      943612  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  7      943281  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.3.ELsmp)
  8      915921  LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9      870697  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0)
 10      769746  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 11      764670  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12      763644  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
 13      750161  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 14      731437  PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15      714494  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 16      704106  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17      628397  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 18      619053  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 19      613688  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20      593935  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Dec 2006)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 53987  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  2 24699  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3 22872  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-47.ELsmp)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5  9454  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
  6  7898  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  7  6615  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
  8  6464  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
  9  6063  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  5729  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 11  5137  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12  4810  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 13  4768  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 14  4750  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 15  4649  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.3.ELsmp)
 16  4467  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 17  4021  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 18  3973  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 19  3093  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 20  2905  LISTS.VCU.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-5)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (DEC06, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     488009  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  2     316234  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server)
  3     285974  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  4     268098  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.3.ELsmp)
  5     260074  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  6     255738  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  7     252746  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  8     236083  DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
  9     232605  LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     224635  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 11     219278  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     191024  PLAYBILLCLUB.HOSTING.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 13     163344  LISTS.AIESEC.NET (Linux 2.4.27-2-686-smp)
 14     159012  LIST.SENIORWEB.NL (Windows Server 2003)
 15     158155  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 16     157091  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     156966  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8)
 18     155088  LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)
 19     152650  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 20     133388  LISTS.LDS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Dec 2006)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      377587  SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2      139758  SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3      122840  POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9)
  4      107142  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.11.4-21.14-smp)
  5       80408  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
  6       79270  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
  7       73761  L-ADMISSIONS-WIRE-A@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  8       67260  FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9       64497  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 10       63128  CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp)
 11       55983  ARTINFO-L@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9)
 12       54328  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 13       52907  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 14       52810  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 15       48424  ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec)
 16       48195  MEDPROS-L@DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)
 17       45573  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 18       43700  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 19       43251  L-SMEALZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 20       40190  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)