[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – April 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 (APR09, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     492349  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  2     448698  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     441912  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     424622  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  5     404035  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.18.el5xen)
  6     348968  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  7     307386  LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU (Linux (S/390) 2.6.5-7.316-s390x)
  8     284034  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
  9     264050  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 10     257017  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 11     255122  LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12     253857  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 13     253086  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 14     251179  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 15     245676  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 16     244600  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17     237389  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 18     216153  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 19     196255  LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 20     195651  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (30 Apr 2009)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     2967234  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-57.ELsmp)
  2     2526060  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     1380721  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  4     1321385  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  5     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  6     1166238  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  7     1061210  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0)
  8     1022079  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  9     1019835  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 10      882056  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 11      831936  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 12      826009  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
 13      804220  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 14      755359  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15      749571  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 16      748055  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.8-smp)
 17      711819  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 18      711224  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.13.ELsmp)
 19      682885  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 20      670284  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.EL)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (30 Apr 2009)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 28397  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  2 27105  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  3 25758  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-57.ELsmp)
  4 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5 11389  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  6 10792  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
  7  9132  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
  8  7906  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
  9  6546  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-128.1.1.el5)
 10  5561  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 11  5380  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.8-smp)
 12  5299  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 13  5148  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
 14  4930  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 15  4888  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 16  4635  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17  4385  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 18  4242  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 19  3819  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 20  3463  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (APR09, 1-30)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     480319  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.5.ELsmp)
  2     443908  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     428346  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
  4     410671  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  5     339537  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.24-etchnhalf.1-686-bigmem)
  6     306795  LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU (Linux (S/390) 2.6.5-7.316-s390x)
  7     261574  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  8     254729  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  9     251331  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 10     249323  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 11     248291  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 12     240542  LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
 13     238654  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14     238399  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 15     233817  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 16     195822  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 17     194724  LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG (Solaris 2.9)
 18     193169  LIST.UVM.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-78.0.1.ELsmp)
 19     192527  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 20     189468  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (30 Apr 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       81158  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       79968  ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6)
  5       77475  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       74042  E-ARTACADEMY@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9)
  7       69869  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       64770  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  9       63321  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 10       52804  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       46421  L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 12       46144  SURFSPOT@NIC.SURFNET.NL (Windows Enterprise Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 13       46003  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 14       44798  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 15       42109  VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp)
 16       38358  L-PSU-TRAVEL-PROGRAM@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
 17       37378  PRESIDENT@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       37197  EPLUS@VM1.HQADMIN.DOE.GOV (VM/SP 3.0)
 19       36850  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 20       36684  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)