Gals and Guys,
Lately, apparently some messages sent to the list contained viruses,
and some ISPs bounce these messages back to the list manager which
then sends out a warning message to you. These warnings are
harmless, and you are not going to be dropped from the list as a
result.
If, on the other hand, a warning message also bounces (this should not
happen since the warning message will not contain a virus) then after
some grace period the list manager sends out a probe, and if the probe
also bounces then you will be removed from the list since the list
manager declares your address bad.
There are about 20 days between the message the list manager tried to
deliver to you first bounced, and the possible removal of your address
from the list because a probe message bounced.
I'd like to emphasize that if only messages containing viruses are
bounced back to the list manager, but not the warning message, then
you will not be removed from the list.
In case you want to know more, let me tell you the paperpath of a
message that bounces:
1) Suppose [EMAIL PROTECTED] sends a message to the list.
2) Upon receiving the message, the list manager called ezmlm first
rewrites the sender address [EMAIL PROTECTED] to a special address. This is
to protect the sender. Indeed, imagine you are [EMAIL PROTECTED], and imagine
50 of subscribers's to the list bounce back the message. According
to the rules of email (rfc 2821), bounces must go to the sender
address---so [EMAIL PROTECTED] (you) would receive 50 bounces. Not great.
So to protect the sender [EMAIL PROTECTED], ezmlm changes the sender address
to a special address so that any bounce will be handled by ezmlm
automatically.
It is important to note that ezmlm makes no other change to the
message. So if the message contained a virus, the virus will be
sent to all subscribers.
3) Now suppose the message (originally from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) ezmlm is trying to
send to the subscriber address [EMAIL PROTECTED] bounces (say the server on c.d
detected a virus in the message). The bounce arrives back to ezmlm.
It then waits about 10 days, and sends a warning message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
explaining that some messages have bounced back.
Now two things can happen:
3/a: This warning message bounces back from [EMAIL PROTECTED] Then ezmlm
makes a note of it, and about 10 days later will send a probe
message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] If the probe bounces back, the address
[EMAIL PROTECTED] is removed from the list. If the probe does not bounce
back, the bad behavior of [EMAIL PROTECTED] is forgotten for now.
3/b: This message does not bounce back from [EMAIL PROTECTED] Then the bad
behavior of [EMAIL PROTECTED] is forgotten for now.
That is it. So note that if a new message sent to the list bounces
back from [EMAIL PROTECTED], then the whole thing starts all over. In
particular, another 20 day grace period will start for this new
message---independently from [EMAIL PROTECTED]'s bad behavior on a previous
message.
You see you will be removed from the list only if your address is
really bad.
Mate
