![[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 475922 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 2 427364 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 393192 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 4 383853 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server) 5 382315 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.ELsmp) 6 327275 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 7 306853 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 8 304381 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 9 300000 LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003) 10 252391 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 228615 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 12 208542 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 13 207924 LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 207683 EMA3LSV01.CNN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 205605 EMAIL.EBGAMES.COM (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 199797 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 197443 MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 191581 LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server) 19 174808 LISTS.LDS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 168465 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 3636261 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 2 2426786 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-40.ELsmp) 3 1840268 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 4 1430560 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 5 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 6 1089303 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 948522 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 8 866595 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.ELsmp) 9 847096 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 10 786752 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0) 11 769763 GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 12 762443 LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 740301 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp) 14 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 720527 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 16 711452 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 682390 LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 18 673549 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 19 641470 LISTSERV.VERSUS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 637663 LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 47062 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 24560 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 22659 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-40.ELsmp) 4 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 5 10105 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Solaris 2.8) 6 9063 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 7 6799 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 8 6130 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp) 9 5869 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 10 5567 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 4850 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10) 12 4569 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 13 4507 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 14 4385 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.ELsmp) 15 4337 MARIST (VM/SP 1.0) 16 4294 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 3920 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 18 3846 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 19 3787 LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 20 2983 LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK (Solaris 2.9)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 452959 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 2 395912 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 3 394524 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 369522 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-40.ELsmp) 5 341920 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server) 6 333691 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 7 308596 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 8 299614 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 9 285177 LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003) 10 247869 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 11 231146 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 12 207924 LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 13 203435 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 14 197249 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 175909 LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG (Windows 2000 Server) 16 174801 LISTS.LDS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 167548 LISTS.AIESEC.NET (Linux 2.6.8-2-686) 18 160630 LIST.SENIORWEB.NL (Windows 2000 Server) 19 158769 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 156704 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.ELsmp)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 375856 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 139089 SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 122841 POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9) 4 101832 COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.11.4-21.12-smp) 5 82505 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 6 78731 TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 7 76217 FIRSTGOV-L@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 68317 FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 67316 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 10 63429 CARE2@MILEPOST1.COM (Linux 2.4.20-31.9smp) 11 55933 EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 12 52926 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-22.0.2.ELsmp) 13 52812 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 14 51856 ARTINFO-L@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9) 15 47677 ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.4.27-grsec) 16 46769 ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 17 45521 JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 18 42004 L-SMEALZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 19 41871 L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 4.3) 20 39192 QCIINT@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003)