[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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