Re: 517 Syntax error ??

On Tuesday 26 February 2019 04:57:25 mario chiari wrote:

> Hi
>
> I get this error message:
>
> fetchmail: reading message [email protected]@pop3.mydomain.net:1 of
> 40 (1552 octets) (log message incomplete)
> fetchmail: MDA returned nonzero status 67
> fetchmail:  not flushed
> 517 Syntax error.
>
> Most often the culprit seems to be a return receipt message, o a
> failed delivery message.
>
> I have a very basic know-how about fetchmail, but I would like to fix
> this issue.
>
> Thanks
> Regards
> mario

This might be the result of fetchmail being wrongfully denied the ability 
to delete a mail successfully pulled from the pop3 server. Because so 
many customers use imap and a web based email agent, many ISP's have 
denied fetchmail that deletion ability.  My ISP uses dovecot to serve 
both customers from the same server. Mine has made that failure silent 
somehow, so I have to log into the server daily and use firefox to clean 
out my mailbox as I don't use imap. I keep my own email corpus, pushing 
nearly 20 years old now.

I use the latest fetchmail 6.3.26 with a patch to include a timestamp in 
the log line, against their server, and they have it configured to 
accept the "flush" command but ignore it. So fetchmail is not aware of 
the failure. It has its own old mail record keeping.  IMO thats the best 
option for the ISP who must serve both protocols since imap users expect 
their mail server to have everything they've ever received.

This also exposes, if they get hacked, all the most private details of 
your online banking activities, etc, etc, and allows the ISP who would 
monetize their spam delivery by sending you crap you may have shown an 
interest in. My mail is IMNSHO, none of their business, hence I log in 
and clean it out a couple times a day.

A phone call to your ISP's tech staff might be beneficial if thats the 
cause but email is flowing anyway. They may not be aware they are giving 
fetchmail a minor tummy ache with their method of protecting their imap 
using customers.
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Fetchmail-users mailing list
> [email protected]
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/fetchmail-users


Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>