Gmail weirdness?

Fri Feb 10 15:50:56 UTC 2006

Mark Owen wrote:

>On 2/10/06, Mark Foster <blakjak at blakjak.net> wrote:
>  
>

>>Particularly, we're seeing gmail deliver multiple instances of a message
>>from a gmail subscriber to a mailing list server...
>>    
>>

Well, doubled instances, yes. Multiple instances, no.

>>http://www.linux.net.nz/pipermail/nzlug/2006-February/003398.html
>>    
>>

I read this, and it sounds like you're talking about the duplicate 
message problem, which I've noted on multiple lists, for, oh, six 
months, maybe a year.

>>Gmails website didn't list any suitable NOC-type contact addresses, nor
>>are there any on the NOC list site.
>>    
>>

>As a subscriber that interacts on multiple lists, as well as the
>occasional personal e-mail I'll send out to friends and family, no one
>has ever reported that they are receiving multiple instances of my
>e-mails.  I have also never received multiple e-mails from other gmail
>users directly or through a list.
>  
>

I've seen just exactly this problem on many of the mailing lists that 
I'm on (although it's only been two copies, not multiple copies). I've 
seen surmises that suggest it *is* a proxying problem. In these cases, 
where I've been interested to examine the headers, the message ID is 
always the same; proxies are always different (i.e. Google/Gmail is the 
one choosing to send it out twice). I believe that this may have been 
reported to gmail-support at google.com (the only address that I know of 
that you may report this type of thing to).

It may be an oddity of the mailing list software itself. I have never 
heard of an instance where an interchange between a gmail user and a 
single person, or persons, created more than one copy. It also seems to 
me that when I've seen this error, it has been on a list using either 
Majordomo or Mailman. I've not seen it on any other lists. It does not 
appear to be related to the size of the list's subscribers, since one of 
the lists I've seen this on averages about 200 members, and another is 
in the thousands.

Just another data point.

-- 
"It is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful
to himself.  Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in
disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what he does not
believe."   Thomas Paine