![[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 784630 PLUM.EASE.LSOFT.COM (OpenVMS V7.3-1 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 716461 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 473260 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 5.2 Server) 4 448431 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 5 433365 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 6 411715 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 366901 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 8 352991 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 351085 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 10 344614 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 11 320457 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 12 293659 MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 274567 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 14 262380 EMA3LSV01.CNN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 258130 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 16 230535 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 230148 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 212220 EMAIL.EBGAMES.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 211617 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 208033 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 3901737 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 2 1968649 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 3 1435236 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 4 1235171 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 5 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 6 1187139 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 1071870 LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 984295 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 9 982558 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 830787 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 820898 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 12 792705 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 13 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 707359 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0) 15 701306 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 16 659981 LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 17 658975 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 575502 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 19 532310 LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 20 517355 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 30365 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 26281 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 4 18432 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 5 9066 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 6 6916 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 7 6025 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 8 5730 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 9 5503 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 10 5476 LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 11 5150 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 12 5057 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 13 4603 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.6) 14 4299 MARIST (VM/SP 1.0) 15 4187 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 16 4114 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 17 3847 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 3672 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 3645 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 20 2704 LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 742196 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 473298 OXYGEN3.PANDASOFTWARE.COM (Windows NT 5.2 Server) 3 452024 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 4 383097 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 5 362860 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 6 361170 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 359207 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 350399 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 9 347966 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-32.0.1.ELsmp) 10 311478 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 264804 MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU (OpenVMS V6.2-1H3 + LSMTP V1.1a) 12 261334 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 13 228865 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 224882 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 204643 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 201177 LISTES.LEMONDE.FR (SunOS 5.6 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 198796 LISTSERV.2KGAMES.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 192870 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 19 187541 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 4.3) 20 177942 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.4.18-27.7.xsmp)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 361117 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 2 122843 POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9) 3 118870 SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 4 83393 COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.5-7.193-smp) 5 78619 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 6 77117 FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 7 64508 CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp) 8 64245 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 9 64079 TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 10 63206 FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Solaris 2.8) 11 55823 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp) 12 52817 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 13 44977 QCIINT@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 41436 JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 15 40844 ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 16 39721 ARTINFO-L@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9) 17 34487 L-SMEALZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 18 34396 EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.8) 19 31547 TESL-L@CUNYVM (VM/SP 4.0) 20 31257 CUNYMATTERS-ONLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b)