![[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 9267488 LISTSERV.BELIEFNET.COM (Windows 2000 Professional + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 2041138 PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 689601 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 550153 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0) 5 462353 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 453460 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 430546 MAILER.INFORMIT.COM (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 402646 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 376704 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 10 343713 LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 337696 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 12 315628 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 13 298316 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 288802 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 15 270991 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 16 241605 MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 236360 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 18 230656 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21) 19 229225 LISTSERV.CAMPBELLKITCHEN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 208326 LISTSERV.DFN.DE (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1a)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 3126472 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 2 2020824 DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 1261512 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 5 1048379 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 6 1034117 ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 1023922 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 8 968049 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 942123 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 10 815489 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-20.8smp) 11 735633 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 12 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 648118 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 14 620972 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 15 597176 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 16 578196 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/ESA 2.3.0) 17 543944 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4) 18 534361 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 19 510993 ACM.ORG (AIX 4.3) 20 503616 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 20591 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-20.8smp) 2 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 3 17201 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 14521 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 5 9429 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 6 7388 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4) 7 4789 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 8 4737 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 9 4553 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 10 4398 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 4052 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 3925 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 13 3900 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 14 3740 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 15 3562 MARIST (VM/SP 2.0) 16 3148 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 17 2771 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 2613 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 2211 LISTSERV.UNL.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-17.7.xsmp) 20 2173 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 870307 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 550186 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0) 3 508887 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 455552 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 5 451869 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 445934 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 7 340031 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 8 327640 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 319637 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.21) 10 318344 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 11 308086 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 12 301014 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 280803 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 14 214887 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 207604 LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 186514 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 184773 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.7-10smp) 18 182347 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 19 174449 BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 174140 LISTES.LEMONDE.FR (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 287704 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 2 282485 GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 222483 EOL-INBOX@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 178297 EOL-DISPATCH@DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 160651 CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6) 6 142542 CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 124855 MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 111227 BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 80820 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 10 69737 CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-30.9smp) 11 66909 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 12 60009 FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 13 58711 CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 14 56842 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 15 56190 ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 44043 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 17 43944 FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 18 37877 CTWADVISORYBOARD-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 37664 L-PSU-TRAVEL-PROGRAM@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 20 36348 ISDNNEWS@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.18-bf2.4)
