[time-nuts] This list
David Kirkby
david.kirkby at onetel.net
Tue Jul 19 12:37:40 EDT 2005
Joseph Gray wrote:
> I have noticed that this list seems to send emails out of sequence. I
> have seen other instances of this, but the two messages I just sent in
> response to the HP 5060A query arrived in reverse order and show time
> stamps 30 minutes apart. I sent my replies to the list about one minute
> apart.
>
> Maybe the list server needs a new Rolex?
This problem seems to hit a lot of mailing lists. It could be a problem
with Mailman (which most use), but I doubt it. I think it is just the
way mail gets sent around the internet.
All sensible systems will use UNIX and sendmail
http://www.sendmail.org/
or a simpler equivalent. I know sendmail checks for mail to send at some
regular interval - 15 minutes on my system.
I don't understand how mail circulates, but it is quite possible that
one machine copies it to another, which then copies it to a third, with
each machine doing this every 15 minutes.
Since there is no reproducible path a message will take from one
computer to another, and the time period starts when the system is
booted and not set via a time server, it probably explains why messages
arrive out of order.
I'm not an IT expert, but my explanation is probably not too far off.
I don't think it is anything the list manager could do anything about.
--
David Kirkby,
G8WRB
Please check out http://www.g8wrb.org/
of if you live in Essex http://www.southminster-branch-line.org.uk/
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