Why do Apple Mail accounts go off-line spontaneously?
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From: Barry Margolin on 25 Nov 2009 23:48 In article <jollyroger-1201EF.19131225112009(a)news.individual.net>, Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > In article <barmar-91C69D.16092025112009(a)news.eternal-september.org>, > Barry Margolin <barmar(a)alum.mit.edu> wrote: > > > In article <jollyroger-D09A83.08052325112009(a)news.individual.net>, > > Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > > > > > In article <1j9qa04.1qeu2bszq3pwkN%thewildrover(a)me.com>, > > > thewildrover(a)me.com (Andy Hewitt) wrote: > > > > > > > Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Often, I have a window pop up asking for my password for accounts > > > > > that > > > > > have gone off-line for no apparent reason. I just go to the Mailbox > > > > > menu > > > > > and put all accounts back on line without reentering a password. What > > > > > causes the account to go off-line? It usually happens when I have > > > > > used > > > > > another application and go back to Mail. > > > > > > > > It's usually caused by a server fault, Mail can't connect, so it goes > > > > offline. If you just cancel the dialogue it'll just reconnect later, or > > > > just click on the triangle to reconnect immediately. > > > > > > > > Yahoo is notoriously bad for this, and I see it going offline almost > > > > daily. > > > > > > It would be much better if Mail would simply give up and try again later > > > *without* changing the status though. > > > > But it can't tell that the problem is the server, not the > > username/password. The POP3 protocol doesn't distinguish different > > types of errors, it just sends back a generic "-ERR" response. It has > > some text along with it that's suitable for users, but isn't > > standardized, so applications can't depend on it (although someone could > > collect and classify the messages from popular POP servers). > > So? If it encounters an issue, it should be smart enough not to force > the user to go out of their way to take accounts back online - > especially considering how often this type of thing happens with email > servers, and the nature of the way most people interface with them on a > repeated basis. But if the server says that there's a possible problem with the password, how is it supposed to resolve it without asking the user? > Ask yourself why are other email clients able to encounter such errors > without taking all accounts offline, forcing you to manually enable them > again before you can check mail. Other mail clients do similar things. Comcast's POP server frequently has errors like this, and the Comcast Help Forum's Email forum is full of posts from people saying that Outlook Express repeatedly asks them for their password. -- Barry Margolin, barmar(a)alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***
From: Jolly Roger on 26 Nov 2009 00:55 In article <barmar-6A8F0A.23462825112009(a)news.eternal-september.org>, Barry Margolin <barmar(a)alum.mit.edu> wrote: > In article <jollyroger-7A811D.19151725112009(a)news.individual.net>, > Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > > > Actually, the OP and I are talking about what happens if the connection > > fails. > > I've never seen it ask for the password when that happens. In that case > it just marks the account offline with, I think with a triangle with "!" > in it. > > It only asks for a new password if the connection succeeds and login > fails. Did you read the OP? He didn't claim it asked for a password. -- Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me. E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts. JR
From: Jolly Roger on 26 Nov 2009 00:57 In article <251120091919061353%dave(a)N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca>, Dave Balderstone <dave(a)N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca> wrote: > In article <jollyroger-16D9A3.19142025112009(a)news.individual.net>, > Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > > > On my machine, Mail typically takes the offending account offline, > > refusing to check email for that account again until i manually > > right-click it and take it back online. > > That's the behaviour here, as well. > > > It's quite irritating to have to do that a few times a week! > > That's definitely not the behaviour here. > > I don't see it even a few times a month, and I'm currently monitoring > 16 separate accounts on six different domains using Mail. Lucky you. I've got 10 accounts, and see it happen frequently enough for it to be an irritation. It's especially irritating considering I know other email clients don't do this! -- Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me. E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts. JR
From: Jolly Roger on 26 Nov 2009 01:00 In article <barmar-361432.23482225112009(a)news.eternal-september.org>, Barry Margolin <barmar(a)alum.mit.edu> wrote: > In article <jollyroger-1201EF.19131225112009(a)news.individual.net>, > Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > > > In article <barmar-91C69D.16092025112009(a)news.eternal-september.org>, > > Barry Margolin <barmar(a)alum.mit.edu> wrote: > > > > > In article <jollyroger-D09A83.08052325112009(a)news.individual.net>, > > > Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > > > > > > > In article <1j9qa04.1qeu2bszq3pwkN%thewildrover(a)me.com>, > > > > thewildrover(a)me.com (Andy Hewitt) wrote: > > > > > > > > > Salmon Egg <SalmonEgg(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > Often, I have a window pop up asking for my password for accounts > > > > > > that > > > > > > have gone off-line for no apparent reason. I just go to the Mailbox > > > > > > menu > > > > > > and put all accounts back on line without reentering a password. > > > > > > What > > > > > > causes the account to go off-line? It usually happens when I have > > > > > > used > > > > > > another application and go back to Mail. > > > > > > > > > > It's usually caused by a server fault, Mail can't connect, so it goes > > > > > offline. If you just cancel the dialogue it'll just reconnect later, > > > > > or > > > > > just click on the triangle to reconnect immediately. > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo is notoriously bad for this, and I see it going offline almost > > > > > daily. > > > > > > > > It would be much better if Mail would simply give up and try again > > > > later > > > > *without* changing the status though. > > > > > > But it can't tell that the problem is the server, not the > > > username/password. The POP3 protocol doesn't distinguish different > > > types of errors, it just sends back a generic "-ERR" response. It has > > > some text along with it that's suitable for users, but isn't > > > standardized, so applications can't depend on it (although someone could > > > collect and classify the messages from popular POP servers). > > > > So? If it encounters an issue, it should be smart enough not to force > > the user to go out of their way to take accounts back online - > > especially considering how often this type of thing happens with email > > servers, and the nature of the way most people interface with them on a > > repeated basis. > > But if the server says that there's a possible problem with the > password, how is it supposed to resolve it without asking the user? Simple answer: Gracefully give up and try again later. After -x- or more consecutive tries, *then* take them offline. Most email connectivity issues are temporary, after all, IME. > > Ask yourself why are other email clients able to encounter such errors > > without taking all accounts offline, forcing you to manually enable them > > again before you can check mail. > > Other mail clients do similar things. Comcast's POP server frequently > has errors like this, and the Comcast Help Forum's Email forum is full > of posts from people saying that Outlook Express repeatedly asks them > for their password. Asking for a password is one thing. Taking accounts offline and refusing to check email again for them until the user manually re-enables them is another. Entourage doesn't do it. Others I have used in the past, including Outlook Express and Claris Emailer, didn't used do it either. -- Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me. E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts. JR
From: Barry Margolin on 26 Nov 2009 01:29
In article <jollyroger-722027.23554425112009(a)news.individual.net>, Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > In article <barmar-6A8F0A.23462825112009(a)news.eternal-september.org>, > Barry Margolin <barmar(a)alum.mit.edu> wrote: > > > In article <jollyroger-7A811D.19151725112009(a)news.individual.net>, > > Jolly Roger <jollyroger(a)pobox.com> wrote: > > > > > Actually, the OP and I are talking about what happens if the connection > > > fails. > > > > I've never seen it ask for the password when that happens. In that case > > it just marks the account offline with, I think with a triangle with "!" > > in it. > > > > It only asks for a new password if the connection succeeds and login > > fails. > > Did you read the OP? He didn't claim it asked for a password. Did you? Here's the first sentence: > Often, I have a window pop up asking for my password for accounts that > have gone off-line for no apparent reason. -- Barry Margolin, barmar(a)alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group *** |