![[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 512619 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 483714 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 3 439728 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.8.ELsmp) 4 419218 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server) 5 388245 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 6 381597 MAILER.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 378777 MAILSENDER2.ZOOMERANG.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 344936 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 9 336051 LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003) 10 309206 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 11 308245 MAESTRO2.AZCENTRAL.COM (Linux 2.6.9-11.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 304375 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 13 294354 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 14 259816 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 252592 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 16 238884 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 17 230059 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 18 226064 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 19 205723 EMA3LSV01.CNN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 204334 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 4235223 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 2 2589339 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 3 2199425 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp) 4 1585605 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 5 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 6 1134595 LISTSERV.CMICH.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 7 1026792 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.8.ELsmp) 8 938432 LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 925729 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 10 820435 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 810452 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 3.0) 12 799284 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 13 775523 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.17.13-grsec2.1.9-vs2.0.2.1) 14 747892 GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 15 731437 PUBLISHER.SSRN.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 16 725753 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp) 17 724805 LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 18 714565 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 19 714494 LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 680499 LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 69600 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 24810 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 22137 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-47.0.1.ELsmp) 4 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 5 10194 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp) 6 9663 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.17.13-grsec2.1.9-vs2.0.2.1) 7 7211 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 8 6707 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 9 6273 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 10 5958 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 11 5256 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10) 12 5061 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 13 4875 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.8.ELsmp) 14 4777 MARIST (VM/SP 2.0) 15 4643 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 16 4631 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 17 4125 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 18 4098 LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10) 19 4050 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows 2000 Advanced Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 3290 LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 39155219 GRAD.WUSTL.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp) 2 486904 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 3 427924 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.8.ELsmp) 4 384022 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 5 373384 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows 2000 Server) 6 338787 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 7 319465 LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows Server 2003) 8 308508 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 9 299829 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 10 257198 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 255677 DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 12 251518 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 13 246975 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 14 235331 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 15 222746 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 16 219557 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 17 198182 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 18 196801 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8) 19 183404 LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 20 181266 LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 378767 SSA_ENEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 127796 SOCIALSECURITY_W2NEWS@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 122840 POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9) 4 115409 COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.11.4-21.14-smp) 5 82502 TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 6 80118 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 7 74024 E-ARTACADEMY@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9) 8 73889 ARTINFO-L@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9) 9 69611 L-ADMISSIONS-WIRE-A@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 10 67071 FEDINFO@LISTSERV.GSA.GOV (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 11 65586 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 12 60970 MEDPROS-L@DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9) 13 59985 EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 14 52810 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 15 50139 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 16 50131 ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 17 49502 ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.17.13-grsec2.1.9-vs2.0.2.1) 18 45052 JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.9) 19 44383 L-SMEALZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 20 43320 SURFSPOT@NIC.SURFNET.NL (Windows Enterprise Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b)