[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – February 2008


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 (FEB08, 1-29)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     761832  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  2     459938  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp)
  3     443186  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     416133  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     414917  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)
  6     413171  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  7     405058  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.16.13-xenU)
  8     388052  MAILSENDER2.ZOOMERANG.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  9     381720  MAESTRO3.AZCENTRAL.COM (Linux 2.6.9-55.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10     347618  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 11     296552  LS.DEALMAKERS.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     291328  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 13     281902  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 14     274658  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 15     268032  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8)
 16     265373  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17     265105  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 18     229067  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 19     222028  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 20     219572  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (29 Feb 2008)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     2304019  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  2     2264011  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-52.ELsmp)
  3     2006015  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  4     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5     1112377  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  6     1110815  LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8)
  7     1076955  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp)
  8     1076680  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  9      889340  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 10      889029  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
 11      850014  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
 12      850002  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 13      802639  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 14      747908  GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 15      745803  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 16      726757  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp)
 17      725404  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 18      704721  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19      669617  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 20      667268  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (29 Feb 2008)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 52428  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8)
  2 20199  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-52.ELsmp)
  3 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  4 12833  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  5 10465  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  6 10455  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp)
  7  8959  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
  8  7904  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  9  6566  TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9)
 10  6477  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 11  5828  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12  5660  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 13  5082  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14  5069  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 15  5058  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp)
 16  4990  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 17  4964  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7)
 18  4176  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 19  4163  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 20  4098  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (FEB08, 1-29)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     450579  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp)
  2     431952  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  3     413343  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  4     403814  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29)
  5     400215  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)
  6     347569  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  7     300853  LS.DEALMAKERS.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  8     270592  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  9     262818  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 10     262465  LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8)
 11     259077  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 12     257095  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 13     255793  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 14     218615  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 15     210784  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 16     202761  LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 17     199090  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     198051  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 19     195924  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 20     192535  LIST.UVM.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.ELsmp)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (29 Feb 2008)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      127083  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18.8-0.7-default)
  2      122840  POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9)
  3       89725  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
  4       78500  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       74029  E-ARTACADEMY@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9)
  6       70355  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       65031  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       59294  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  9       58596  ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
 10       52807  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       52370  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 12       47798  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 13       46481  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 14       46151  SURFSPOT@NIC.SURFNET.NL (Windows Enterprise Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 15       44694  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 16       37909  NOTICE-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17       36976  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       36819  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 19       34644  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 20       34463  MEDPROS-L@DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)