[Sheflug] Sheflug mailman problems??

[(Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Folks,
Posting this to the list instead of the list-owner,
since it may be of interest to more than myself!

I got a message (times about 75 min ago) from
sheflug-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
stating:
  "Your membership in the mailing list Sheflug has been
   disabled due to excessive bounces
   The last bounce received from you was dated 30-Nov-2008.
   You will not get any more messages from this list until
   you re-enable your membership."

along with a URL to go to, to re-enable.

Point 1: I dunno what "excessive bounces" is all about. I seem
to have been happily receiving delivery of the several recent
Sheflug messages (5 today, 4 yesterday). (But see below).

Point 2: When I did go to that URL, all I got was the Sheflug
mailman main page
  Sheflug list run by admin at sheflug.org.uk
  Sheflug administrative interface (requires authorization)
  Overview of all sheflug.org.uk mailing lists
though the browser tab was titled "Re-enable mailing list
membership". Maybe it did "re-enable" without telling me.
But there was no dialogue, no message about re-enabling
my membership.

Point 3: Then I thought I'd check whether I've been missing
any Sheflug postings today (which I should have done, if they
have been bouncing, especially "excessively").

So, from that main page I clicked down to the Archives. There
I find a series of posts,
From:
  # Subject: Re: [Sheflug] ShefLUG - November 2008 Meeting
  # From: Richard Ibbotson <richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  # Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 11:03:27 +0000
To:
  # Subject: Re: [Sheflug] Barcamp Sheffield update
  # From: Tim Dobson <lists@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  # Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:14:48 +0000

and nothing more recent. I have had 18 messages from Sheflug
since that last one from Tim Dobson on Mon 24 Nov.

I conclude that the Sheflug mailman has rotated its underwear.

One possible explanation for apparent "bounces": I receive the
emails at manchester.ac.uk, and that service operates "grey-listing".
Specifically, if an email is received from an IP address not in
its "white list", the initial response is "temporary delivery
failure, please try again later". Protocol requires that the
sending server should then re-try. If it does re-try, the mail
will be accepted, and the sending server's IP then goes on the
white list, and will stay there provided further emails are
received within a time-out period (e.g. 2 weeks). If not, then
it is removed from the white-list, and it all starts again.

Since I have been receiving several Sheflug emails over the
last week, that explanation should not hold, unless the identity
of the Sheflug sending server has recently changed.

But, if that were the case, then
a) There should have been only one such "bounce", not an "excessive"
number; and in any case:
b) It should not have been treated as a true bounce, only a
   "try again later" which it should have done.

So there would seem to have been faults on that front too!

Best wishes to all,
Ted.

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E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861
Date: 30-Nov-08                                       Time: 17:17:32
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