[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – January 2009


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 (JAN09, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     488126  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  2     458688  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)
  3     427406  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     417588  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     410627  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  6     395227  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
  7     367708  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.18.el5xen)
  8     364909  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  9     291356  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 10     244325  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 11     228738  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12     221077  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 13     218515  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 14     218499  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 15     197475  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 16     188468  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 17     186475  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 18     183883  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 19     170780  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20     169168  LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Jan 2009)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     2278242  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-57.ELsmp)
  2     2169869  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     1369311  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  4     1278739  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  5     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  6     1156359  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  7     1021924  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
  8      981775  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  9      967611  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
 10      846948  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 11      799514  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 12      789577  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 13      739926  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.8-smp)
 14      739481  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15      739351  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
 16      719003  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 17      706753  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 18      699215  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
 19      664460  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20      657492  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Jan 2009)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 26097  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  3 18771  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-57.ELsmp)
  4 11950  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  5 11230  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  6 10503  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
  7  7577  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
  8  6992  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  9  6402  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.10.el5)
 10  5674  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 11  5600  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 12  5518  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 13  5422  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14  5308  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.8-smp)
 15  4984  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
 16  4769  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 17  4744  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 18  4334  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 19  3773  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 20  3392  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (JAN09, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     481461  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  2     443094  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server)
  3     412996  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     411678  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     400172  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  6     355770  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  7     256022  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
  8     240791  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  9     230561  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 10     216489  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 11     216048  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 12     213206  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 13     186581  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 14     179116  PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 15     178597  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 16     165740  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17     165518  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 18     164122  LIST.UVM.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
 19     162598  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 20     160761  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Jan 2009)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      127083  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18.8-0.9-default)
  2      122840  POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9)
  3       79322  ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  4       78802  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       77093  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       74042  E-ARTACADEMY@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9)
  7       68508  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       64221  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  9       61758  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 10       52804  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       46433  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 12       46144  SURFSPOT@NIC.SURFNET.NL (Windows Enterprise Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13       44886  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 14       44223  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 15       42110  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 16       39466  PRESIDENT@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17       36863  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       36699  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 19       35813  SAFETYNOTICE@LISTSERV.UC.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 20       35492  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)