BV> I've just had a though on the "missing mail" problem.

BV> I remember a few days ago you saying that you FREQ'd some files from
BV> Dave and he sent you a mail packet at the same time. This meant that
BV> you had to import the mail when the FREQ had finished and
BV> subsequently TML was off-line for a while.

BV> Well...what would happen if another person was to FREQ files using
BV> either Devil Dialer or some other FREQ tool and was using your node
BV> number ?

That would certainly do it, but its most unlikely to be the reason coz
they use passworded sessions for that anyway. In other words more than
the node number is needed.

Personally I think by far the most likely explanation for the missing
mail problem now that we have eliminated the possibilitys of some unique
characteristic in what gets lost like size or dupe in just TO FROM and
SUBJECT fields in the same bundle is that the bad packet problem is just
being ignored by some. They get some bads, they couldnt care less. Bye
bye the messages affected at times.

BV> I am also a little confused as to why Bill cant get the same echos
BV> from both yourself and David, yet you keep saying that this would
BV> mess up the sending of mail to QLD.

BV> I would have thought that your system would only send mail to your
BV> BOSS node. So, what difference would it make if Bill pointed from you
BV> using his JabberWOCky point number ? Surely, you don't send mail
BV> directly to David. This means that it must first go to Dave Hatch who
BV> then sends it "up the line". It must still get to QLD surely ?

BV> If it doesn't then the fundamental structure of Fido is fucked and
BV> should be re-designed to stop this from happening.

I dont believe that there is that fundamental a design flaw there either.

BV> Either that or the only way you are ever going to stop loosing mail is
BV> to ban FREQs and POINTing.

And since they have been around since time immemorial, its most unlikely
its as simple as that.

BV> Just a thought, but it seems the "missing mail" problem is probably
BV> related to this somehow.

Cant see that at all myself.

I think the other very real possibility is just the problem you see with
points. If a particular mail bundle is lost for whatever reason, its
gone for good essentially. There is just no way to ask Boss for it
again. So if someone glitches some farting around and isnt careful
enough to keep safety copys for a while, bye bye some mail. Same for the
machine crash situation that Bill was talking about, presumably some
mail just went forever.

Thats different to the first one I was talking about in that its much
harder to do anything about, particularly the rarer case of the complete
machine crash in one node in the path.

Even thats fixable with redundant routing and auto dupe removal, but
thats obviously a much more expensive approach and you can see why thats
not done in practice.

--- PQWK200