I thought e-mails were instantaneous.

[trof]

Or close to it.
miz t. sent me one from her computer about 6 feet away over 10 minutes ago.
Still haven't got it.
:shrug:
On edit, we have the same server and DSL.

[Left Is Write]

1. Sometimes it takes hours to get emails from my mother.

[last_texas_dem]

2. The length of time seems to be unpredictable

At least that has been my experience... Sometimes someone could have sent me one miles and miles away, with a different e-mail provider and it will arrive in a matter of seconds, while someone with the same provider, maybe in the same room could send one and it could take minutes or hours. I'm too computer illiterate to really know what causes this.

[trof]

3. Damn. I'm waiting for a recipe to post here.

[trof]

4. OK, this is getting weirder.

About 5 hours ago I sent an e-mail to a list of mine.
I'm also on the list so I can file a copy of what I send out.
I just got my copy of the e-mail.
jeez

[Xithras]

5. Not even close.

It can be instant on a small private network with a lightly used server, but very large email servers can take quite a while to process and send messages. Also, each message has to be processed twice...once by the senders email server, and once by the recipients email server. Our email server here at work is loaded heavily enough so that outgoing messages actually take about 15 minutes before they hit the Internet. If the recipient has an ISP with a slow server, it could be minutes or hours before it gets deposited in their email box.

[trof]

6. Even more weirdness: :"Received at 2:20 p.m."

I got it at about 4:45.
So what does the received time mean?

[Xithras]

7. It means the slow email server is on your end.

Your email server received the message at 2:20, but it took two hours and twenty minutes to place it into your folder.

This about it this way: Your incoming email server is like a big bucket that all incoming messages go into. You can't retrieve your messages from that bucket, however, because they haven't yet been sorted and you don't know which are yours. Two hours later, the mailroom clerk finally retrieves your mail from the bucket and puts it in your mail slot so you can read it. It may not be so much that the clerk is slow, but that there are a lot of messages to go through.

Email isn't a profit center for most ISP's, so the emphasis tends to be more on reliability than performance.

[trof]

8. Many thanks, Xith.

I went to my mailbox on the server and it's not there yet either.
I guess once it arrives there it comes to my inbox in the next download cycle.

[petronius]

10. So then what does it mean

when the "Received date" is earlier than the "Sent date"? Do I just work at a lame university with a junky computer system?

[Xithras]

13. That could just be an incorrect date on the server.

If the server doesn't update for DST or something, or if someone simply didn't pay attention to the clock when setting the system time, you can end up with odd dates like that.

[ContraBass Black]

9. Far, far from it.

Most systems will give up after two or three days, though.

[trof]

11. Now I've received 4 more e-mails, but not the one from miz t.

damn
:shrug:

[Redstone]

12. Happens between our two office rooms as well.

Redstone

[billyskank]

14. I have arrived in person before my emails, before

:D

[leftofthedial]

15. the NSA's trof translator is on break

your normal email service will be restored momentarily

[JitterbugPerfume]

16. sigh

my e mail is fubar


at least till my daughter in law gets here monday to fix it


I love my DIL

[applegrove]

17. They get routed and rerouted through servers. If one is busy - they

might go around to another. If all the servers are busy - it could take a bit.

Then of course it would depend on agent Mike too! And how many times the word "Pizza Hut" is swepted up on that day.

:rofl: