> Suppose that the post you are looking for was posted to the list during
> the interval covered by your datespecs, but the poster has his/her PC's
> clock set out in left field with a date years into the past or future.
> Would it be found in that case?  Or are you always checking against the
> datestamp in the posting?

The time stamp you specify in the command is compared to the "Date:" field - whatever this field may contain. For purposes of manufacturing a persistent link, it does not matter if the date is "wrong" as long as the combination (date,poster) is unique.

  Eric