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<H2><A NAME="SECTION002760000000000000000">
7.6 I don't seem to be getting mail from the lists. What should
I do?</A>
</H2>
There are a few common reasons for this:
<UL>
<LI>No one has sent any mail to the list(s) you're on for a little while.
<P>
To check if this is the case, try visiting the archives of the list
(assuming that the list has archives). If the list has no archives, you
may have to ask another subscriber. (See Section <A HREF="node9.html#sec:web">3.1</A> for help
in finding the list archives.)
<P>
<span class="note"><b class="label">Note:</b>
Generally, it is considered
impolite to send test messages to the entire list.
If you feel a need to test that the list is working and for some reason you
cannot simply compose a regular message to the list, it is less disruptive
to send a help message to
the list request address (LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN) to see if that works,
or to contact the list
administrator (LISTNAME-owner@DOMAIN) to ask if the list is working.</span>
<P>
</LI>
<LI>You were bouncing mail and have had mail delivery (temporarily)
disabled by the list software.
<P>
If your mail provider ``bounces'' too many messages (that is, it tells
Mailman that the message could not be delivered)
Mailman eventually stops trying to send you mail. This feature allows
Mailman to gracefully handle addresses which no longer exist (for example,
the subscriber has found a new Internet service provider and forgot to
unsubscribe the old address), as well
as addresses which are temporarily out-of-service (for example, the
subscriber has used up all of the allotted space for his or her email
account, or the subscriber's mail provider is experiencing difficulties).
<P>
Even if you are unaware of any difficulties with your mail provider, it
is a good idea to check this. Some popular webmail providers and
internet servers are not as reliable as one might assume, nor is the
internet as a whole. You may want to also send yourself a test message
from another account or ask a friend to send you a test message to make
sure your subscribed address is working.
<P>
To check if this may be the reason you are not receiving messages, log in
to the your options page (See
Section <A HREF="node9.html#sec:web">3.1</A> for more details on how to do this) and
look at your options.
If your subscription has been disabled or Mailman has received bounces from
your email address, there will be a big banner at the top of this page.
<P>
To re-enable mail delivery, look for an option marked ``Mail Delivery'' and
set it to ``Enabled'' to start receiving mail again.
To get rid of your bounce score, you can disable and then re-enable delivery.
For more instructions on disabling or enabling mail delivery,
see Section <A HREF="node20.html#sec:nomail">7.1</A>.
<P>
<span class="note"><b class="label">Note:</b>
Even if you have not been disabled at the time you check, you could be
bouncing messages and not have reached the threshold for your
subscription to be disabled. You may need to check again.</span>
<P>
</LI>
<LI>There is a delay or break in the networks between you and the
list server.
<P>
No matter what many of us would like, the internet is not 100%
reliable, nor is it always fast. Sometimes, messages simply take a long
time to get to you. Try to be patient, especially if the server is far
(in terms of networks, not geography, although often one implies the other)
from your internet service provider.
<P>
To check if this might be causing your problem, you can try pinging
the list server or tracing the route between you and it. (Instructions
on how to do this varies from platform to platform, so you may want to
use a search engine to find those appropriate for you.)
<P>
</LI>
<LI>The mail server or Mailman might not be functioning properly. This
can happen if the system is overloaded with viruses or spam and the mail
system that hosts Mailman has trouble keeping up.
<P>
To test if this is a case, try visiting the list's web interface and
try sending a message to <span class="email">LISTNAME-request@DOMAIN</span> with the command
``<var>help</var>'' (without the quotes) in the <span class="mailheader">Subject:</span>. If
neither of these works after a reasonable length of time, this may be
the problem. You may wish to contact either the list or site
administrator(s).
</LI>
</UL>
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<span class="release-info">Release 2.1, documentation updated on 7 October 2003.</span>
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