Aidan, Duplicate postings from ARPA lists are quite common. It is due to a problem with some (actually, many) SMTP mailers, when sending to distribution lists. LISTSERV attempts to clean up each piece of mail that it sends, so you don't see all of the Received: lines, that would indicate where the problem really lies. Specifically, the problem is that the sending SMTP process iterates over the list of recipients (from the distribution list), dutifully send copies of the posting. At some point, it fails to make a connection to the receiving SMTP process (the host is down, or the gateway to the host's network is down, etc.) The sending SMTP then requeues the posting for delivery at a later time. If you are earlier on the list that the problem address, you'll get a copy the first time, and then again when it's resent. If you are later that the problem, you'll get a copy after the problem address has be passed. Many SMTP systems will try to send mail repeatedly for up to three days before aborting entirely, so if you're an early address, you may see *many* copies. A good SMTP would only resend to problem addresses, and skip over them during the first pass. But then, we all know bad programmers, right? Ross Patterson Rutgers University Center for Computer and Information Systems ATT et al : (201) 932-3435 BITNET : A024012@RUTVM1 ARPANet : A024012%RUTVM1.BITNET@WISCVM Snail Mail : PO Box 879, Piscataway, NJ 08855-0879