On Wed, Dec 06, 2006 at 09:28:12AM +0000, Philip Hazel wrote:
> On Tue, 5 Dec 2006, Chris Lightfoot wrote:
>
> > The classic example is errors indicating that the user's
> > mailbox quota is overrun. This is of course a temporary
> > error, not a permanent one,
>
> How do you know it is a temporary error?
Because a future attempt with the same sender, receiver
and message data may succeed. RFC 2821:
| A rule of thumb to determine
| whether a reply fits into the 4yz or the 5yz category (see below)
| is that replies are 4yz if they can be successful if repeated
| without any change in command form or in properties of the sender
| or receiver (that is, the command is repeated identically and the
| receiver does not put up a new implementation.)
`Over quota' is no more a permanent error than `disk full'
or `load average too high'. It's certainly true that (a)
the error condition could persist indefinitely, and (b) if
it persists for too long the failing message should be
returned to its sender, but that's a decision for the
sender, not the recipient.
--
``... their old car. You know, the one they call `The Envy of Sisyphus',
because it goes quite nicely up-hill if you push it.''
(Saki, from `Tobermory')
