![[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 1663153 LSRV01.PRETNEUCK.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 708583 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 674422 PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 556521 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 487085 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 434306 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 5.2 Server) 7 401367 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 8 384999 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 9 380691 LISTSERV.COMPUTERWORLD.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 357386 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 268004 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 250393 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 13 237904 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 14 205840 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 15 183085 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 16 178506 EMA3LSV01.CNN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 171879 LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9) 18 164327 GSPOT-MAIL01.IBILL.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 162275 LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 156665 BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 3839471 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 2 2134101 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 3 1754198 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 4 1246737 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 6 1083991 LEGALMINDS.ORG (Linux 2.2.12-0.1) 7 1058252 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 8 1034117 ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 954041 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 10 953228 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 945755 LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 746609 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 699733 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0) 15 693057 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 16 671003 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 17 626657 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 18 613334 LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 19 570068 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 20 566737 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 37137 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 22728 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 3 22082 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 5 10174 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 6 8348 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 7 5520 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 8 5329 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 9 4890 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 10 4806 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 4721 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 4440 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 13 4330 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 14 4073 LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 15 4053 MARIST (VM/SP 1.0) 16 3798 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 17 3555 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 3536 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 3486 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 20 2535 LISTS.VCU.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-5)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 434342 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 5.2 Server) 2 430903 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 404680 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 4 385809 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 369673 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 6 363412 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 253537 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 8 252561 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 250090 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 10 238376 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 11 198852 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 12 165400 BAMA.UA.EDU (Solaris 2.9 + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 150824 LISTES.LEMONDE.FR (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 147133 LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 145414 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 140757 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 136308 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 131606 LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 130415 LIST.SENIORWEB.NL (Windows 2000 Server) 20 128753 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 352045 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 2 282485 GARTNER_INSIGHT@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 160651 CLICK-IT@PEGASUS.THISCO.COM (Solaris 2.6) 4 142542 CTWFAMILYNEWSLETTER-L@GROVER.CTWONLINE.COM (Solaris 2.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 131626 SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 6 124855 MSN-UK-NEWS@ANNOUNCE.MICROSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 122843 POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9) 8 111227 BURPEENEWS@DISPATCH.GARDEN.ORG (Windows NT Workstation 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 80969 CL-ANNOUNCE@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.151-smp) 10 76737 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 11 74227 FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 12 64940 CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp) 13 63056 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 14 61258 FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 15 58832 L-PSU-TRAVEL-PROGRAM@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 16 58169 TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 17 57062 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 18 56190 ADVISOR@LISTSERV.GARTNER.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 52819 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 20 48010 QCIINT@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)