Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2000 14:24:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Dave Sill <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>How often have you heard somebody say ``You
>didn't get my fax? I guess the Telco server was down.''
Ever pick up the phone and not get a dialtone? Dial a number and get
the "fast busy signal" that means "no circuits available"? Ever try to
send someone a fax and get a busy signal, no answer, or a human? I
sure have.
Sure. You get a rapid indication of an error condition. qmail by
default provides an indication of an error condition after 1 week.
>The Internet can and should be more reliable for this sort of usage.
SMTP and existing MUA's and MTA's were not designed for instantaneous
delivery. If you want to force it to be more immediate, shorten your
queuelifetime.
There is a large gap between instantaneous delivery and 1 week. There
is a large gap between ``I could not deliver this message in one hour
but I will keep trying'' and ``I could not deliver this message in one
hour, try again later.''
There is no one correct solution for all mail messages. But I don't
see why the current state of affairs is appropriate or even
reasonable.
Ian
