![[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 6726229 LISTSERV.BELIEFNET.COM (Windows 2000 Professional + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 2175450 PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 1162265 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 1143362 TOPSITEZ.US (Windows NT 5.2 Enterprise Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 799267 RLY1.YOUWINMAIL.COM (Windows NT 5.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 538880 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0) 7 474477 MAILER.INFORMIT.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 438646 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 399846 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 10 375287 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 338317 BART.EASYWINNING.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 333384 LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 325272 JCCMAILER01.JEWELCLAIMCENTER.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 317766 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 15 297637 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 16 288046 MAIL1.SHOWMETHEDEALS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 281421 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 270795 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 256690 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 20 237989 MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 3067161 EMAIL.ZDLISTS.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 2894802 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 3 2296267 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 2020824 DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 1466611 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 7 1102052 GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 1069142 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 9 1034117 ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 942896 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 11 804726 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 12 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 685588 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3) 14 678940 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 15 561948 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 16 551747 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/ESA 2.3.0) 17 535654 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 18 533351 ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3) 19 495363 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 20 489112 LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 2 10624 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 10005 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 4 9592 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 5 6513 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3) 6 5434 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-18.8smp) 7 4434 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 8 4408 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 9 4295 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 10 3976 MARIST (VM/SP 2.0) 11 3847 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 12 3743 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 3676 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 14 3486 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4) 15 3379 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 16 2875 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 17 2799 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 2442 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 2157 LISTSERV.UNL.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-17.7.xsmp) 20 2098 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 915513 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 538910 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0) 3 485877 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 4 473929 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 434185 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 406688 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 7 333140 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 332048 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 9 320535 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 10 311898 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21) 11 274141 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 240510 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 13 215639 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.8) 14 211935 MITVMA.MIT.EDU (VM/ESA 2.4.0) 15 203137 BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 200819 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 189960 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3) 18 180686 LISTSERV.ICTNET.ES (SunOS 5.7) 19 179230 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp) 20 178405 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 472934 MW-WOD@LISTSERV.WEBSTER.M-W.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 282485 GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 260287 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 4 222483 EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 178297 EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 160651 CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6) 7 142542 CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 124855 MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 116874 WINCDR@LISTSERV.ADAPTEC.COM (Windows NT Server 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 111227 BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 83219 SELFHELP@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 77831 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 4.3) 13 63244 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 14 56190 ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 54325 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 16 48525 L-PSU-TRAVEL-PROGRAM@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 17 46835 FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 18 44185 GOURMET-ECLUB@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 43114 ALUMNEWS@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 38621 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8)
