> > > I do not have access to the sendmail log, but I can request a copy of
> > the
> > > file from the administrator.  What would I be looking for or
> > > requesting; i.e. what's in the log that will help me?  Is this a daily
> > > log?
> >
> [Wes Anderson] Stan Horwitz replied:
>
> > Look for anything that indicates a failure to connect to the recipient's
> > host or send email to the recipient. Its hard to be specific since there
> > are many ways that an error message can appear in the log file
>
> I got the log file and checked for the subscriber mentioned.  The log file
> gave the following message...
>
> "13 Feb 2003 15:43:10 Mail posted via SMTP to [log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> " <e-mail address removed for confidentiality>

This is from the LISTSERV log, not the Sendmail log. All this tells you is
the process of sending a message to [log in to unmask]  has begun.

"Mail posted via SMTP"  only means that LISTSERV sent the message via the
SMTP protocol to the outbound MTA (mail server) for actual delivery to the
recipient's mail server.  LISTSERV does not have the ability to deliver
messages directly to recipients. What you need is the Sendmail log and
look for a confirmed delivery to the recipients mail server. With that in
hand, you can say with confidence their mail WAS delivered.

> I thought this meant that the e-mail went through okay.  However, I have
> since discovered that other subscribers that were subsequently reported on
> the "Daily error monitoring report" actually showed up in the logs with the
> same log message as the subscriber in question.  So this log message
> clearly has NO significant meaning in terms of whether or not the broadcast
> e-mail got through to a subscriber.

Correct. LISTSERV logs can not be used for confirmation of delivery, only
that they were subscribed, not set to NOMAIL and the message was sent to
the outbound MTA for final delivery.

> So, I'm back to square one.  The Daily error monitoring report will tell me
> which subscribers didn't get the e-mail, but there seems to be no reliable
> way of telling which subscribers actually got the e-mail.

No there is not. Even if you were the system admin that had continuous
access to the MTA logs, just because a message was delivered, doesn't mean
the recipient actually received the message in their mail box. You should
also be aware if you have Auto-Delete set, that subscribers can bounce
messages non-fatally, which do not show up in the daily report.

> Are we just to "assume" that subscribers received the e-mail if they don't
> show up on a Daily error report?

As only a list owner, that's about it. You could use Auto-Delete= No  or
Manual so you receive all errors. That way you will know which ones
weren't delivered, even the "mail box full" and other non-fatal temporary
errors.