![[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 973072 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 914042 PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 597569 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0) 4 543228 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 5 519710 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 420086 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 387325 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 8 334768 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 9 330892 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 329923 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 295642 LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 275865 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 13 275829 MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 274458 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 15 265457 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.26) 16 225665 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 210080 LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.8) 18 205002 LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 201592 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 195499 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 4098831 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 2 2020824 DISPATCH.CNET.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 1815356 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 1734776 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp) 5 1543351 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 6 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 7 1112563 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 8 1081242 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 9 1034117 ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 1023799 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 11 901381 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 774571 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0) 13 733613 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 14 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 717454 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 16 649214 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 17 635358 LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 18 612582 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 611932 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 544396 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 26430 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 22013 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 3 21007 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.20-29.8.8smp) 4 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 5 7983 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 6 6078 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 7 6067 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 8 5319 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 9 5022 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 10 4955 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 4560 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 4480 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 13 4199 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 14 4120 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 15 4105 MARIST (VM/SP 1.0) 16 4059 LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 17 3569 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 18 3510 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 2944 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 2417 LISTS.VCU.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-5)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 820778 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 597611 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 4.0) 3 548004 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 4 458367 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 430188 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 372873 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 7 349640 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.26) 8 325389 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 9 315231 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 300767 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 279127 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 12 274562 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 13 223025 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 201014 LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows NT 5.2 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 193906 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 193690 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp) 17 189947 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 175113 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 19 163001 LIST.SENIORWEB.NL (Windows 2000 Server) 20 156995 SEGATE.SUNET.SE (Solaris 2.8)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 330830 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 123249 SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 9 111227 BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 74674 CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.111.5-smp) 11 72403 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 12 69609 FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 13 67867 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (AIX 5.1) 14 66015 CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp) 15 61204 TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 16 59588 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 17 56190 ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 54853 FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 19 51351 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 20 37877 CTWADVISORYBOARD-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b)