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How are Your SMTP Timeouts Configured?
Asprin asks: "One of the employees at work had a major headache because a very important email was undeliverable for more than 24 hours. Sure, he got an warning from our server about it, but only after an entire day had passed, and the email was no longer timely. Therefore, I shorted the message handling timeouts to send 'delivery delayed' warnings after 30 minutes and to cancel the message as undeliverable after four hours. Now, I don't expect any of the other mail administrators here to bless these timeouts because they're way too short. HOWEVER, the truth is that my users rely on email to be as reliable as telephone messages, and if it can't be delivered immediately, it is better to reject it outright and alert the user so that other communication channels can be exploited such as fax or Fed-Ex. Is anyone else doing this? Are there any non-obvious ramifications lurking? Pros? Cons? Comments? Should we all reduce these timeouts on our SMTP servers?"
Open relay
what other setting matters.
You made a good point about sending faxes or using FedEx.
I find the best way to use email is to email the important information, then print out a copy and fax the copy, then call the recipient to find out if they received both the email and the fax.
Without the voice confirmation, it's impossible to tell (as your headached co-worker knows) whether or not the message has been delivered.
We use dogsleds.
If the dogs come back wanting food without the sled.
Then the driver was eaten by a bear and the
message did not get through and the sled
sunk below the ice.
Resend Message
else If The dogs come back with the sled but
without the driver and w/o reply
Then the driver was eaten by a bear and the
the dogs were hungry so they came home.
Resend Message
else If The dogs come back with the sled and
the reply but without the driver.
Then the team made it to the destination
got the reply but the driver was eaten
by a bear on the way home. However,
the dogs were hungry so they returned.
else If the driver returns with the team and
the reply.
Then the reply is a fake. The driver hung out
at the brothel down the road for a few
weeks and faked the reply.
Resend message.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
1) Send the email and request acknowledgement in your message
2) Make two printouts of the mail
3) Fax the first printout to your recipent
3) Phone the peer party for the receipt confirmation of both electronic and fax copy of said email
4) Mail the first printout to your recipent, don't forget to request acknowledgement
5) File the second printout in a huge three-ring binder
6) Assign a clerk to have him/her check hourly the status of the emails with the corresponding parties
It's your business on which your life is depending. You can't be too safe, you know.
It "arrived" on October 06 2003 and asked about an event in April. I assumed the sender was referring to April 2004 and replied as such.
I got an angry reply telling me to "Check the Date on the Email I Sent You!"
The headers showed October 6. Nothing else!
This guy thought I was JUST getting around to checking my email and was really pissed off that I took 6 months to respond to him!
I thought this stuff only happened to the USPS.
I like microcars
At least one thing we can be thankful for....
The USPS has prior art on delayed mail, so no patent can be taken by the inventors of SMTP or anyone else.
Well it looks like we're running out of options....
How about carrier pigeon.... that doesn't sound good, too many points of failure:
- needs to eat and could die of starvation (though they are air rats)
- can be killed by too many things (and I thought a KILLALL command was bad)
- could fly the other way.
Ok, how about smoke signals... wait, that won't work, too many points of failure:
- windy days (you called but your message just seemed to drag, so I stopped looking)
- looking in the wrong direction or not looking at all. (sorry I was on the other smokeline; or sorry had something in my eye)
- interference from other smoke signals. way too many jokes can be applied here.
- smoke and real fires might get confusing.
Ok ok, how about... two cups and a string. We can use titanium cups and silk spider webbing. Make the ultimate internet. Unforunately I do see the manifestation of audio blogs, and ppl's incessant wining. (ooh, my spouse doesn't cook, clean or wash, woe is me)
Message in a bottle? Nope, tidal currents may have a bottle floating for years before your message about what you want for dinner finally arrives.
Catapulting message bottles? Now that sounds like fun, until property damage occurs, and accidental deaths.
Well looks like we have no reliable way to send a message. I guess we'll just have to pretend we did and blame the other person.
When most of our emails get to their destinations within a matter of seconds or minutes, it begets an unrealistic expectation that it will always be that way, especially for those who do not understand the fractured and codependent nature of the Internet.
I would think that most of the women I've dated would understand this perfectly...
I was buying it all, until that last line. You should have quite while you were ahead.
Either you're making this all up, or you only sent that message 5 minutes ago and then left the building. Please stop building up false hopes in young, impressionable, email admins, it's just not nice!