Subject: Re: Missing Inbox (fwd)

From: Andrew McHugh Gordon <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 16:03:16 -0500 (CDT)

I hope you can help me retrieve my INBOX, (please read forwarded message
below).

Thank you, 

Andrew Gordon                    [email-masked]
University of Mississippi        Department of Music     (601)232-7268

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 24 May 1997 15:30:55 -0500 (CDT)
From: Andrew McHugh Gordon <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Subject: Re:  Missing Inbox

I logged on to sunset today (Saturday at about 3 PM) and was shocked to
find that my INBOX (about two years worth of saved messages which were
sent to me) is missing, meaning, at the top, it said 0 of 0 messages.
Something must have happened within the past 12 to 20 hours, as this INBOX
was accesible to me yesterday (Friday).

If there is any way to retrieve/restore all of the messages saved in this
INBOX, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE restore them.  I can be reached at 232-3371
and will be happy to cooperate in trying to get my INBOX back.

(I called one of my professors and he told me to write to this address,
saying that a back-up tape, which is constantly updated, might have my
messages?)

Andrew Gordon                    [email-masked]
University of Mississippi        Department of Music     (601)232-7268

---

From: Chip Old <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 09:45:48 -0400 (EDT)

This isn't really a Pine issue, it's something you need to take up with
your local System Administrator.  The only way to retrieve your lost
messages is for the Sys Admin to restore your mail spool file (your Inbox)
from a backup tape. 
 
However, your Sys Admin will probably tell you (and rightfully so) that
you shouldn't be storing messages in your Inbox, especially two years
worth.  Your mail spool file (your Inbox) is meant as a temporary holding
file for new messages.  It isn't meant for permanent storage.  Even on a
system with lots of disk space, the file system containing all users' mail
spool files has a finite amout of space available to it.  If all users on
the system use their Inboxes for general message storage as you have done,
that space can fill up.  When the file system fills up, the mail delivery
system ceases to function.  No Sys Admin can allow that to happen, so most
Sys Admins will delete huge mail spool files rather than allow them to
bring down mail delivery.  Check with your Sys Admin to find out what
his/her policy is on that. 
 
If you want to keep old messages, use Pine's "S" command to save them to
"saved-mail" folders.  This stores them within the "~/mail" directory
within your own home directory.  On most systems this is on a different
file system (disk partition) than the one mail spool files are stored on,
so the space impact doesn't threaten the performance of the mail delivery
system.

> saying that a back-up tape, which is constantly updated, might have my

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Chip Old (Francis E. Old)                  [email-masked]
Administrator, Internetworking Services    Voice:      410-887-6180
Baltimore County Public Library            FAX:        410-887-2091
320 York Road                              ICBM:     39.39910 North
Towson, Maryland 21204 U.S.A.                        76.60300 West

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From: Andrew McHugh Gordon <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 14:05:44 -0500 (CDT)

Thank you for whatever you did to get my INBOX back, I am totally relieved
to see it here on the screen once again :)  If this makes no sense, then
just know I appreciate your, or whoever's, good deed.