[Linux-aus] List down? - was Re: technology alphabet

[Bret Busby]

On Fri, 25 Jul 2008, Simon Lyall wrote:

> 
> On Thu, 24 Jul 2008, Bret Busby wrote:
>> I posted a reply to the above message, about 8 hours ago, and have not
>> received a copy distributed by the list.
>
> The list probably has "nodupes" enabled:
>
> The "nodupes" option tries to make sure that subscribers only receive one
> copy of a given message. It can sometimes be useful: it prevents
> recipients from receiving two copies of a message when someone on the list
> uses "Reply to All" to reply to a list message, for example. (That's
> because if subscriber1 at example.com sends a message to list at example.com,
> then subscriber2 at example.com receives that message and clicks "Reply to
> All", the reply would be sent "To: subscriber1 at example.com; CC:
> list at example.com". That would normally cause subscriber1 at example.com to
> receive two copies: one directly from the mail program of
> subscriber2 at example.com, and one from the list server. The "nodupes"
> setting prevents the list server copy from being sent.)  [1]
>
>> I realise that this is australia, and things happebn slowly in
>> australia, but something seems to be wrong.
>
> Yeah, there are some slow things in Australia but this doesn't appear to
> be one of them.
>
>
> [1] - From http://www.support.tigertech.net/mailman-nodupes
>
> -- 
> Simon Lyall  |  Very Busy  |  Web: http://www.darkmere.gen.nz/
> "To stay awake all night adds a day to your life" - Stilgar | eMT.
>
>
>

Thank you for that.

One problem with that; if, in addition to the setting restricting the To 
addressee from receiving a message from the list, that would have been 
distriibuted by the list, via the CC addressee being the list, where 
subscribers use Reply All because the list does not use the "Default all 
replies to the list" setting, the setting restricts the poster of a 
message to the list, from being sent by the list, a copy of the message 
as distributed by the list, then the poster of a message to the list, 
lacks verification of the message having ben successfully both received 
by the mailing list software, and distributed by the mailing list 
software, unless and until a person replies to the message posted to the 
list, by the poster.

As messages sometimes disappear into the ether that is the Internet, 
never to be seen again, it can mean that people could, due to the 
nodupes setting, repeatedly post the same message to a list, in good 
faith, believing that something is eating their messages, until someone 
ofn the list, gets fed up with receiving multiple copies of the message, 
and posts a message to the list, complaining that multiple copies of the 
same message have been received, or, in looking at the timestamps of the 
multiple copies of the message, sends a message to the poster, asking 
the poster to desist, as the repeated postings of the same message are 
increasingly annoying.

And, I still don't know whether my original reply to Brenda's message, 
was received and distributed, by the mailing list software.

However, .... I do note that I did receive from the list, a copy of the 
message that I posted to the list, to which you replied, above.

So, I think that, perhaps, the nodupes setting was not enabled, and, 
perhaps, my original reply to Brenda's message, did get eaten by some 
mysterious entity in the Internet ether.

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
  you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
   Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
   "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
   A Trilogy In Four Parts",
   written by Douglas Adams,
   published by Pan Books, 1992

....................................................