[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]

LISTSERV Top 20 statistics – August 2014


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 (AUG14, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     692101  JISCMAIL.AC.UK (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  2     414649  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 6.1)
  3     358862  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  4     356977  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition)
  5     269332  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
  6     263444  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
  7     253750  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.101)
  8     248089  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  9     229653  DISCUSSIONS.EQ.EDU.AU (Linux 2.6.18-371.9.1.el5)
 10     219562  NEWSMAIL.WYANOKEGROUP.COM (Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard x64 Edition)
 11     218491  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
 12     216348  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 13     215254  PO.MISSOURI.EDU (Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard x64 Edition)
 14     190692  LISTS.HAWAII.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64)
 15     182838  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-358.2.1.el6.x86_64)
 16     181745  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9)
 17     175702  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 18     167547  LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition)
 19     163935  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 20     162134  AOPAMAILER.AOPA2.ORG (Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition)

Top 20 sites by number of subscribers (28 Aug 2014)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1     4660157  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18)
  2     4111095  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 6.1)
  3     1568821  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  4     1505216  LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
  5     1494197  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
  6     1373588  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9)
  7     1356258  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
  8     1307700  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9)
  9     1207079  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18)
 10     1059036  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 11      945072  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.101)
 12      918630  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 13      908432  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 14      889452  LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 3.0.34)
 15      844292  CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 4.0)
 16      771407  LISTSERV.MIAMIOH.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 17      751295  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 18      737532  LISTSERV.UA.EDU (Linux 3.0.82)
 19      721956  LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 20      666677  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by number of lists (28 Aug 2014)

Pos Lists  Site
--- -----  ----
  1 67759  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  2 32073  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 6.1)
  3 31429  LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.6.18)
  4 13086  LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9)
  5 11604  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9)
  6  9788  LISTS.CLEMSON.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
  7  9599  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
  8  8328  LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.18)
  9  7141  HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
 10  6755  MARIST (VM/SP 2.0)
 11  6291  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 12  6152  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
 13  5857  LISTSERV.MIAMIOH.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 14  5699  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.101)
 15  4842  LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
 16  4677  LISTSERV.TECHNION.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.18)
 17  4247  LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
 18  3865  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 19  3801  LISTS.QUEENSU.CA (Solaris 2.10)
 20  3711  LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10)

Top 20 sites by volume generated daily (AUG14, 1-28)

Pos Recipients  Site
--- ----------  ----
  1     672783  JISCMAIL.AC.UK (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  2     409631  LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 6.1)
  3     354834  LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
  4     348779  LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition)
  5     262907  LISTSERV.MED.CORNELL.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
  6     262803  LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
  7     251404  LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Linux 3.0.101)
  8     244661  LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
  9     229467  DISCUSSIONS.EQ.EDU.AU (Linux 2.6.18-371.9.1.el5)
 10     214816  PO.MISSOURI.EDU (Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard x64 Edition)
 11     212414  LISTS.UFL.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 12     194244  LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
 13     189340  LISTS.HAWAII.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64)
 14     182264  LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.32-358.2.1.el6.x86_64)
 15     177792  LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9)
 16     149536  LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.10)
 17     144644  LISTS.ASU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 18     137832  LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
 19     134347  LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Linux 2.6.18)
 20     133957  LISTSERV.DARTMOUTH.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)

Top 20 lists by number of subscribers (28 Aug 2014)

Pos Subscribers  Site
--- -----------  ----
  1      280345  COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 3.0.34)
  2      110727  COMNET@HERMES.GWU.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
  3       86994  EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  4       74965  RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  5       72327  ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  6       66551  HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  7       63059  EXCEL@LISTSERV.UTA.EDU (Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition)
  8       62026  PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
  9       59695  GLOBAL-LINKS@LISTSERV.ELCA.ORG (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
 10       52803  FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 11       50073  FOLKWAYS@SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU (Linux 2.6.32)
 12       48556  ESCRIU-ME@LISTSERV.UV.ES (Linux 2.6.32)
 13       44053  JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 14       37835  SAFETYNOTICE@LISTSERV.UC.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003)
 15       37250  CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 16       36765  WORLDWIDEWORDS@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG (Linux 3.0.101)
 17       35744  FC-NYLIB@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10)
 18       34586  TCUATHLETICSDIRECTOR@LISTSERV.TCU.EDU (Windows Server 2003)
 19       33983  ASMSU@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 3.0.34)
 20       33624  L-SMEAL-REPORT@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 6.1)