![[LISTSERV - the mailing list management classic]](https://www.lsoft.com/images/HDR-LISTSERV-sm.gif)
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).
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).
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 3377997 CHEWBACCA1.YESMAIL.NET (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 3015646 CHEWBACCA5.YESMAIL.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 2860275 PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.1-1H1 + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 2832213 LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 2080388 MAILSVR11.EASYWINNING.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 1550678 LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7) 7 1350869 LISTSERV.ELOTTONET.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 1200564 MAILSVRSQL.CLEARFLOW.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 961152 LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 852197 LS.OPTHOST.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 820535 LISTSERV.BELIEFNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 558052 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 13 492173 JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6) 14 460280 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 427942 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 333452 LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 17 327644 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2) 18 314986 LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7) 19 264913 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.16) 20 262730 LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.2.16)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 5918756 LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 5353018 GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 4867119 LISTSERV.WOMEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 3067161 EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 2134361 LISTAS.STARMEDIA.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 2020824 DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 2014823 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 1373627 LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6) 9 1300657 ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 874237 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 11 622834 LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6) 12 568374 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 13 545502 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2) 14 490435 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 478478 LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 472768 ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3) 17 442232 ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 429006 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3) 19 313891 DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 311390 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 8657 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 4217 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3) 3 4096 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.6) 4 3514 LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 5 3119 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 6 2992 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (AIX 4.3) 7 2842 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 2671 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 9 2666 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2) 10 2654 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 2054 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 1991 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.0.34) 13 1896 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 14 1858 CRCVMS.UNL.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2) 15 1816 LISTS.AIESEC.ORG (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 1759 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 1733 LIST.NIH.GOV (Solaris 2.6) 18 1718 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (AIX 4.2) 19 1652 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 20 1593 LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 2832216 LISTSERV.EDIETS.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 1545235 LISTS.SECURITYFOCUS.COM (SunOS 5.7) 3 1002801 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 958304 LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 696822 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 6 612775 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 535828 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 487320 JAVA.SUN.COM (SunOS 5.6) 9 381878 LISTSERV.ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 10 339488 LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6) 11 338599 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.2) 12 324412 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.2.16) 13 314986 LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7) 14 299629 LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG (Linux 2.2.16) 15 294386 NETSPACE.ORG (???) 16 289278 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 276111 MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0) 18 261896 LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 244940 LISTS.MSTAR.NET (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 236632 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (AIX 4.3.2.01 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 443904 HPJ2@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 289032 HPJ@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 280907 GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 258338 REGARDS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 256225 SKIMAPS@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 255548 MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 229777 FOODTV@GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 222483 EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 178297 EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 159738 CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6) 11 152084 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.7) 12 145212 MICROSOFT_SECURITY@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 138719 THE-SCIENTIST-L@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 127677 VULNTRAQ@LISTSERV.NTSECURITY.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 126853 OLISPLITALERTS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM (HP-UX B.10.20 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 124823 MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 116874 WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 111508 CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 110887 BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 98035 MONEYDAILY@LISTSERV.PATHFINDER.COM (Solaris 2.6)
