How long is too long?

[schickel]

I just added a new email address to my ISP account and was somewhat surprised that someone had used it before, since it has to do with the sequences with which some of us are working and it doesn't seem like a general type of user name <aliquot@....>. I've already received several pieces of spam, though; and I was even more surprised when I found out that some email servers out there are pretty darned persistent....check out this notification:

This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.
A message that you sent has not yet been delivered to one or more of its
recipients after more than 6288 hours on the queue on hd-t1410cl.xxxxxx.com.

The message identifier is:     1K3szz-0006aL-FC
The subject of the message is: what a stupid face you have here sh
The date of the message is:    Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:39:25 +0000

The address to which the message has not yet been delivered is:

  sh@xxxxxx.com

No action is required on your part. Delivery attempts will continue for
some time, and this warning may be repeated at intervals if the message
remains undelivered. Eventually the mail delivery software will give up,
and when that happens, the message will be returned to you.

I'm pretty sure that after 6200+ (!) hours the message cannot have been that important and could just be flushed.....although you never know.

It's comforting to realize that eventually the mail will get through. And looking at the messages, it looks like it's set to notify me every 24 hours of the failure....even better: when it skips one, I'll know it got through!

[retina]

It is only 262 days old, not even one year, what is the rush to send it so soon anyway. Give a few more millennia and then start to get worried that something might be wrong.

And the important thing is the the spam did get through. It wouldn't be a real email experience without getting spam. Now all you need is the Nigerian Prince's chief eunuch to email you saying he has a bagillion USD to put into your bank account.

[10metreh]

Originally Posted by schickel

I just added a new email address to my ISP account and was somewhat surprised that someone had used it before, since it has to do with the sequences with which some of us are working and it doesn't seem like a general type of user name <aliquot@....>. I've already received several pieces of spam, though; and I was even more surprised when I found out that some email servers out there are pretty darned persistent....check out this notification:

This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.
A message that you sent has not yet been delivered to one or more of its
recipients after more than 6288 hours on the queue on hd-t1410cl.xxxxxx.com.
 
The message identifier is:     1K3szz-0006aL-FC
The subject of the message is: what a stupid face you have here sh
The date of the message is:    Wed, 04 Jun 2008 11:39:25 +0000
 
The address to which the message has not yet been delivered is:
 
  sh@xxxxxx.com
 
No action is required on your part. Delivery attempts will continue for
some time, and this warning may be repeated at intervals if the message
remains undelivered. Eventually the mail delivery software will give up,
and when that happens, the message will be returned to you.

I'm pretty sure that after 6200+ (!) hours the message cannot have been that important and could just be flushed.....although you never know.

It's comforting to realize that eventually the mail will get through. And looking at the messages, it looks like it's set to notify me every 24 hours of the failure....even better: when it skips one, I'll know it got through!

Interesting! It wasn't me who had used the address before, since my address is not aliquot@anything.