ListProc Error Messages

A very important function of a listowner is to understand error messages you receive from ListProc and know what to do if you recieve them. This document will attempt to list some of the most common error messages and explain both their cause and what you, as a listowner should do in responce to the messages. The examples below are far from a complete list of the types of errors you will run into, but they will let you know about the most common error messages and how to handle them. After reading this page, if you are unsure what you should do about a particular error message you have received, please forward the complete error message to help@shamash.org and our staff will assist you.

[ General Hints | Specific Bounce Messages | Extra Examples | Other Links ]

A few general hints:

  1. I am getting error messages about an email address which is not on my list.
  2. Why am I still receiving error messages from an address which I've removed from my list?
  3. I don't want to deal with error messages, can ListProc do it for me?
  4. I'm using AUTO-DELETE-SUBSCRIBERS, so why am I still getting error messages?
  1. I am getting error messages about userid@host.domain.xxx but that email address is not on my list. What should I do?

    If you cannot find the user who is bouncing messages on your list then you have to do a bit of detective-work. Sometimes the key words in the error message are hidden down a few screens from the beginning, so sometimes you will have to read through a long bounce message before you find the key words indicating why the message bounced.

    1. Carefully examine the error message and look for varients of the email address which may be subscribed to your list.
    2. Do a REVIEW of your list by sending the command: RECIPIENTS listname and then search the file which you are sent. You may search it manually, but it may be best to search the information by computer. You may do this in many email programs (for UNIX, Windows and Mac) or you may paste the email into a word processor of you r choice and search it using the Find command on your word processor.

  2. I already POSPONED or QUIET DELETED a subscriber from my list, why am I still receiving error messages from their Internet provider?

    1. The subscriber may be on your list twice, double check using the method described above.
    2. These messages usually say something on the lines of "attmpting to send, will continue for n days". This just means that an intermediate host or the host itself will continue to try to deliver the mail you sent a while ago. Many places continue to attempt sending mail which bounces for a week. Some sites try for two or more weeks. If you are receiving a very, very large volume of these messages, and based on the messages you expect to continue to receive them for another week or more, and you double check that the user is no longer on your list, you may contact the postmaster at the user's domain and ask if they could delete those messages from their mail queue so you stop receiving error messages.
    3. The subscriber may have an alias inside ListProc which is still sending them mail. Check your list's alias file by sending the following command to ListProc:
      EDIT listname listpassword ALIASES -NOLOCK
      You will be sent a list of the aliases for your list, if the email address is still not there, contact your ListProc Manager and ask if there is a global ListProc alias which could account for your problem.

  3. I don't want to deal with error messages, can ListProc do it for me?

    Sort of. You can send listproc the command:
    CONFIG listname listpassword AUTO-DELETE-SUBSCRIBERS
    and ListProc will do its best to make decisions for you. You will find that if an internet provider has a transient error, the subscriber will be removed from your list. This can be very annoying at times, but for very large lists, this is an excellent configuration option to make your listowner responsibilities easier.

    This solution only works on a relatively small number of messages. Future upgrades in the ListProc software will contain better management of error messages.

  4. I have set my list to AUTO-DELETE-SUBSCRIBERS so I don't have to deal with error messages, why am I still getting error messages?

    There are many forms of error messages. Unfortunately, There are not absolute Internet Standards which contain the the exact text which mailers send back with error messages. Some mail systems add extra information, other remove information, and some re port errors in an language other than English. ListProc's auto-delete-subscribers feature will not always understand these messages and stop the bounces.

What do these bounce messages mean?

Here are a few of the typical mail errors you will have to deal with as a list owner:

  1. User unknown / user not found
  2. Host unknown / host not found / no MX or A records for host
  3. Transient failure: cannot deliver for n days
  4. Mailbox full / quota exceeded / mailbox size quota exceeded
  5. Unknown mailer error n
  6. Bounced, but sent successfully
  7. Quota time limit ... expired

  1. User unknown / user not found 

    <<< 550 <daniel@some.machine.com>... User unknown
550 <daniel@some.machine.com>... User unknown
    Almost all of the time, this message means that a user no longer maintains an email address at this location. This could be because they graduated, changed jobs, or began using a different Internet provider. You should delete the user from your list by sending the command
    QUIET DELETE listname listpassword userid@host.domain.xxx
    unless you have specific knowledge that the user still maintains an account at that address.

    View more examples of user unknown error messages.

  2. Host unknown / host not found / no MX or A records for host

    550 <daniel@some.machine.com>... Host unknown (Name server: some.machine.com: host not found)
    This error means that the computer (host) called some.machine.com cannot be found. Domain name service (DNS) went down for this domain, so the host may be running, but the Internet cannot correlate the name of the host to the IP address (numeric code name) of the host. Basically, the host cannot be found. It occurs for one of these reasons:

    You won't be able to tell the difference between these sitations from this error message, so you'll have to make a judgement call.

    If you have chosen to POSTPONE the user's mail, then you should email the user and notify them that you have done so. It would also be a good idea to keep track of users you POSTPONE, and at a later time (a week later perhaps), follow up with anot her message.

    View more examples of host unknown error message.

  3. Transient failure: cannot deliver for n days

    A particular computer is having transient failures, and thus the intended subscriber cannot receive the message you sent immediatly. Yet, another mail host, somewhere along the path to the intended recipient will hold on to the messages for n days and attempt to redeliver it during that time period. Most of the time, the email address of the recipient is just fine, so its up to you, as the list owner, to decide if you want to wait out the transient failure for a few days, or if you want to POSTPONE the user. Most of the time, its best to wait out this problem, as it will usually resolve on its own. Please note that if you POSTPONE the user, that will NOT effect the message which is still attempting to be delivere d. See above for more information about this situation.

  4. mailbox full / quota exceeded / mailbox size quota exceeded 

    550 user daniel, quota exceeded
550 <daniel@some.machine.com>... Can't create output: Error 0
    This message just means that the users mailbox or account has filled up all allocated disk space. It frequently happens on 'edu' accounts where the mailbox space is very small. It can also occur if the user receives a very large attached file, suddenly joins many mailing lists, or goes out of town without postponing their mail. You should send the following command to ListProc:
    SET listname MAIL POSTPONE FOR userid@host.domain.xxx

    View more examples of mailbox full error messages.

  5. unknown mailer error n

    This error occurs when UNIX Sendmail is misconfigured for the intended recipient. Most of the time, the Internet provider for the intended recipient will fix this problem on their own, so this error is typically transient. You should POSTPONE or DELETE, according to your preference. One system sent the following under an "unknown mailer error 1" heading: 

    binmail: /usr/spool/mail/userid: too big to accept new messages.  
        It's size is 20805 bytes which is 325 bytes over quota.  
mail: cannot open dead.letter
554 <userid@node>... unknown mailer error 1
    This means that the user's account cannot handle this message for one of a few reasons. You should treat this as you do a mailbox full error, even though, it may mean that the user's mailbox is full, or it may mean that the user has exceeded their accoun ts disk quota.

  6. Bounced, but sent successfully

    This error comes from cc:Mail systems and is very confusing. It claims that the mail bounced to one address, but was sent successfully to another.

           While talking to smtp.machine.com:
        >> DATA
        << 554 I/O error to mailbox
        554 daniel@smtp.machine.com... Service unavailable

        ----- Recipients of this delivery -----
        Bounced, cannot deliver:
           daniel@smtp.machine.com
        Sent successfully:
           <daniel@machine.com>

    What this generally means (assuming that the mail hasn't gone through a redistribution list or a mirror site) is that you have a user daniel@machine.com on your list, and the server accepted the mail for that address successfully. However, that address actually redirects mail to a different address internally (in this case daniel@smtp.machine.com) and for whatever reason, the server can't forward the mail to that address. This is the equivalent of a "user unknown" error for daniel@machine.com.

  7. Quota time limit ... expired

    Quota time limit for user daniel has expired.
554 ... Service unavailable
    The mailbox has been filled for so long that the mail machine will no longer receive mail and queue it for later delivery. This is really a mailbox full error that is acting somewhat like a user unknown error. You should either POSTPONE or QUIET DELETE those who respond like this.

Extra Examples of Error Messages

Other Links

Here are some helpful, vey technical links on how different mailers handle bounce messages:

Qmail


Last modified: Thursday, 02-Oct-2003 13:07:52 EDT

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