Listverse

Listverse is a website dedicated to lists of trivia from a variety of categories - the most popular of which are lists of misconceptions and human oddities. While it is primarily a "top 10" site, it also features lists of varied numbers of items. The site's founder and editor, Jamie Frater, provides the majority of the content, but user submitted lists are also often published.

History
Listverse was launched in 2007 on a shared hosting platform. After a series of front page articles on social networking sites Digg and Reddit, it rapidly went from obscurity to receiving nearly 5 million visits each month.

Technology
Until 2009, Listverse was based on a derivative of the open source blogging software Wordpress and open source database MySQL. It ran on four Linux servers housed in Los Angeles, California. In June, 2009, the site moved to the Wordpress VIP system.

Most Viewed Lists
On July 1st 2009, Jamie Frater post a list titled "Top 10 Most Popular List Ever". It documented the ten lists on Listverse that had the most unique views.

10. Top 10 Human Sideshow Freaks 232,798 views

9. Top 10 Bizarre Mental Disorders 245,123 views

8. Top 20 Best Gangster Movies 249,128 views

7. Top 10 Amazing Facts About Dreams 259,766 views

6. Top 10 Most Evil Women 260,251 views

5. Top 10 Unsolved Mysteries 287,330 views

4. Top 15 Amazing Coincidences 301,438 views

3. Top 15 Manipulated Photographs 345,094 views

2. Top 10 Incredible Recordings 423,182 views

1. 10 Fascinating Last Pictures Taken 447,773 views

Suicide 463,999 views This list wasn't included as it had been removed from the site.
 * Top 10 Common Methods Of

Suicide List Controversy
One of the primary advertisers, ValueClick Media, ceased advertising with the site in 2009 due to complaints from an advertiser regarding a list (Top 10 Methods of Suicide ) on the site. The list described the most common methods (and consequences when things go wrong) of committing suicide. It also included helpline numbers for people contemplating suicide in the United Kingdom and United States. Despite Listverse removing the list, ValueClick did not renew their contract.

Charity Controversy
In 2007, following the appearance of listverse on the BBC television program "Click", UK group "Mothers Against Murder And Aggression " started a campaign against the site for including a list "11 Tips for Outrunning The Cops". The organization said: "We live in a society with too much crime and too much killing and anything that glamourises crime is not good but something that leads people into believing they could commit crime then get away with it is incredibly dangerous. [...] The list could even give children a push towards crime and so it should be taken down."

The Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists
In 2008, Listverse was contracted by Ulysses Press to produce a book based on the website's most popular lists. The book, "The Ultimate Book of Top 10 Lists", is available online and in retail stores.