I don't care how many millions of pieces of mail that they handle in a half assed fashion. It is much easier to design a "lossy" sytem than a reliable one. >No slight intended, but I can't help but think that anyone who thinks >that AOL's mail-handling problems are even tractable [much less "simple"] >just doesn't really understand the problem... If AOL has "intractable" mail handling problems, then they are defrauding their customers by claiming to handle their mail, right? Either they are outright frauds (once again, they have oversold their capacity) or they have not oversold their capacity and have simply designed poorly. I personally believe that they have the capacity, and that they just have an ill-thought out system. Yep, there are a lot of people doing things that just plain violate the RFCs and the world has changed. But, given all that: is there anyone else who is selling ISP access who is, by policy, randomly throwing mailing list mail on the ground without returning it? I've been following this list for a fair while. AOL is the *only* company that repeatedly comes up with some poor listowner saying "they are randomly trashing my mailing list mail and not bothering to return it". Over and over again. I have no respect for a company, when that company provides an unreliable service, especially when they provide it by design. I hold to my original position. The number of pieces of mail that they handle poorly simply does not impress me. My opinion of anyone who sells a service they know to be broken is expressed above. -- That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. That which does kill us makes us smell stronger, after a few days, anyway. Nick Simicich mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] or (last choice) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scifi.squawk.com/njs.html -- Stop by and Light Up The World!
