Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bgsuvax!kutz
From: kutz@bgsuvax.UUCP (Kenneth J. Kutz)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.sendmail
Subject: Mailing lists with sendmail
Keywords: mailing list sendmail queue runs
Message-ID: <5294@bgsuvax.UUCP>
Date: 3 Jan 90 18:49:31 GMT
Organization: Bowling Green State University B.G., Oh.
Lines: 28

Configuration: Vax 11/785 running MORE/bsd (based on 4.3BSD) using
               sendmail 5.61 ftp'd from Berkeley

Just recently we have started administering a large mailing list.  The
machine which receives the mail message and then consequently disperses
it to the rest of the list (kept in a file with a corresponding 
':include filename' entry in /usr/lib/aliases) has the above configuration.

The problem we are experiencing is that sometimes sendmail doesn't
"remember" which hosts it has sent the message to and sends some
messages more than once to the same user at the same host.   Currently
there are 120 people on the mailing list.  I assume that when a
message gets "deferred" or fails to be sent because of some interruption
in service, it is then that we are ripe for multiple copies to
hit the same recipient.  If that message fails for the same reason
on future tries, previous successful sends get sent again succesfully
which irritates those folks who only like to read a message once :-)

Is anyone else maintaining large mail lists with sendmail and experienced
these same growing pains?  I suppose the problem could be from the
original sender site and not here given the problem is rather sporadic.
It has happened 3 times in a month and a half.

Thank you.

-- 
  Kenneth J. Kutz		  Internet 	kutz@andy.bgsu.edu         
  Systems Programmer		  BITNET   	KUTZ@BGSUOPIE              
  University Computer Services    UUCP     	...!osu-cis!bgsuvax!kutz   
  Bowling Green State Univ.       US Mail   238 Math Science, BG OH 43403