[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – July 2011


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 (JUL11, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     509329  XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.18-238.12.1.el5xen)
  2     355196  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-5-686-bigmem)
  3     352617  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  4     321207  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  5     266491  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
  6     233097  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  7     195428  LIST.CARWALE.COM (Windows Server 2003)
  8     193828  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  9     186121  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
 10     184025  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 11     175849  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
 12     167122  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 13     154614  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 14     153050  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 15     151728  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32.12-0.7-xen)
 16     151515  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 17     150561  MAIL.MYVALOTTERY.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 18     148423  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 19     143407  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 20     139849  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (31 Jul 2011)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     3039083  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18-238.5.1.el5)
  2     2972191  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  3     1239073  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
  4     1202129  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  5     1158484  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
  6     1097968  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.29.ELsmp)
  7     1059036  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
  8     1005253  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.25.ELsmp)
  9     1004302  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
 10      983609  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
 11      981769  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 12      965046  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 13      904226  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 14      902894  LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 15      877025  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 4.0)
 16      856383  LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 17      852202  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 18      812232  LISTSERV.KSU.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 19      756993  LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 20      751295  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.1.10.el5.xs5.5.0.51xen)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (31 Jul 2011)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 33918  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 21929  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18-238.5.1.el5)
  3 19335  CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
  4 11876  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.29.ELsmp)
  5  9901  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.0.25.ELsmp)
  6  9609  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  7  9599  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
  8  8984  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5)
  9  7337  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18-238.1.1.el5)
 10  6352  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 11  6268  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12  6181  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
 13  6049  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 14  5736  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32.12-0.7-xen)
 15  5619  LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 16  4838  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
 17  4688  LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 18  4291  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 19  4043  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 20  3686  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (JUL11, 1-31)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     344600  H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-5-686-bigmem)
  2     344068  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003)
  3     316043  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2)
  4     254075  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-89.35.1.ELsmp)
  5     224578  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  6     189386  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  7     186167  NERDALERT.THENERDS.NET (Linux 2.6.18-92.1.22.el5)
  8     171039  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-194.11.3.el5)
  9     162126  BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
 10     161773  APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition)
 11     152551  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 12     150093  LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 13     148711  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 14     148359  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32.12-0.7-xen)
 15     146355  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp)
 16     137451  HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)
 17     130643  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 18     123607  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9)
 19     115585  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18-128.1.10.el5.xs5.5.0.51xen)
 20     114087  MAIL.NACBA.ORG (Linux 2.6.26-2-amd64)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (31 Jul 2011)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      222081  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.27.54-0.2-default)
  2       86994  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  3       75536  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       72327  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       66548  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       62893  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       52803  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  8       49388  COMNET@HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.16.54-0.2.12-smp)
  9       44558  FOLKWAYS@SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 10       44428  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       42616  GLOBAL-LINKS@LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 12       41447  JAGNEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 13       40135  TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
 14       37537  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 15       36944  SKILLPORT-UHMAIN-STUDENTS@LISTSERV.UH.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp)
 16       36669  EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 17       36486  DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2)
 18       35714  FC-NYLIB@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 19       35077  STUDENT-AT-TENNESSEE@LISTSERV.UTK.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 20       34584  TCUATHLETICSDIRECTOR@LISTSERV.TCU.EDU (Windows Server 2003)