![[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 761832 LISTSERV.FOXNEWS.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 2 459938 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp) 3 443186 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 4 416133 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 5 414917 LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server) 6 413171 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 7 405058 XB1.BOOKSAMILLION.COM (Linux 2.6.16.13-xenU) 8 388052 MAILSENDER2.ZOOMERANG.COM (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 9 381720 MAESTRO3.AZCENTRAL.COM (Linux 2.6.9-55.ELsmp + LSMTP V1.1b) 10 347618 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 11 296552 LS.DEALMAKERS.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 12 291328 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition) 13 281902 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp) 14 274658 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 15 268032 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8) 16 265373 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 17 265105 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003) 18 229067 LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9) 19 222028 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 20 219572 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 2304019 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 2264011 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-52.ELsmp) 3 2006015 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 4 1202129 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 5 1112377 LISTSERV.ACM.ORG (Windows Server 2003) 6 1110815 LS.TIMEINC.NET (Solaris 2.8) 7 1076955 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp) 8 1076680 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 9 889340 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp) 10 889029 CUVMC.AIS.COLUMBIA.EDU (VM/SP 1.0) 11 850014 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6) 12 850002 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 13 802639 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 14 747908 GUAVA.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 15 745803 LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 16 726757 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp) 17 725404 LISTS.WAYNE.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 18 704721 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 19 669617 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003) 20 667268 LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10)
Pos Lists Site --- ----- ---- 1 52428 LISTSERV.ND.EDU (Solaris 2.8) 2 20199 LISTES.ULAVAL.CA (Linux 2.4.21-52.ELsmp) 3 19335 CLEMSON.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 4 12833 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003) 5 10465 LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6) 6 10455 LISTSERV.TAU.AC.IL (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.10.ELsmp) 7 8959 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp) 8 7904 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 9 6566 TECHUNIX.TECHNION.AC.IL (Solaris 2.9) 10 6477 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 11 5828 LISTSERV.MILLERSVILLE.EDU (Solaris 2.10) 12 5660 MARIST (VM/SP 2.0) 13 5082 LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 14 5069 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 15 5058 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp) 16 4990 LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU (Solaris 2.10) 17 4964 HERMES.GWU.EDU (Solaris 2.7) 18 4176 LISTS.UMN.EDU (Solaris 2.10) 19 4163 LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU (Windows Enterprise Server 2003) 20 4098 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9)
Pos Recipients Site --- ---------- ---- 1 450579 LISTSERV.UGA.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.0.1.ELsmp) 2 431952 LISTSERV.SYR.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 3 413343 LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 4 403814 H-NET.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.4.29) 5 400215 LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG (Windows 2000 Server) 6 347569 LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU (Solaris 2.9) 7 300853 LS.DEALMAKERS.NET (Windows 2000 Server + LSMTP V1.1b) 8 270592 HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 9 262818 LSV.UKY.EDU (Windows Server 2003) 10 262465 LISTSERV.REDIRIS.ES (Solaris 2.8) 11 259077 LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 12 257095 LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp) 13 255793 APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003 R2 x64 Edition) 14 218615 LISTSERV.UIC.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-42.0.2.ELsmp) 15 210784 LISTS.UFL.EDU (AIX 5.3) 16 202761 LISTS.CAMPMOR.COM (Windows NT 4.0 + LSMTP V1.1b) 17 199090 LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU (Windows Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 18 198051 LISTSERV.UMD.EDU (SunOS 5.9) 19 195924 PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM (Windows Server 2003) 20 192535 LIST.UVM.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-67.ELsmp)
Pos Subscribers Site --- ----------- ---- 1 127083 COMPUTING@LIST.MSU.EDU (Linux 2.6.18.8-0.7-default) 2 122840 POSTMITA@LISTSERV.NIC.IT (Solaris 2.9) 3 89725 TEMPLETODAY@LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU (Linux 2.4.21-20.ELsmp) 4 78500 RFP-BULLETIN@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 5 74029 E-ARTACADEMY@LISTSERV.DFN.DE (Solaris 2.9) 6 70355 EDUCATION_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 7 65031 PND-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 8 59294 ARTS_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 9 58596 ALUMNI@LISTSERV.CC.KULEUVEN.AC.BE (Linux 2.6.22.18-grsec2.1.11-vs2.2.0.6) 10 52807 FDNCENTER-L@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 11 52370 HEALTH_FUNDING@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 12 47798 VTNETLETTER@LISTSERV.VT.EDU (Linux 2.6.9-55.0.2.ELsmp) 13 46481 L-LAZINE@LISTS.PSU.EDU (AIX 5.2) 14 46151 SURFSPOT@NIC.SURFNET.NL (Windows Enterprise Server 2003 + LSMTP V1.1b) 15 44694 JOB-ALERT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 16 37909 NOTICE-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 17 36976 EVENTS-NEWSLETTER-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 18 36819 DIVERSITY-NEWS-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU (Windows Server 2003 R2) 19 34644 CONNECT@LISTS.FDNCENTER.ORG (Solaris 2.10) 20 34463 MEDPROS-L@DTIC.MIL (Solaris 2.9)