#642940 Disappearing emails in bsd-mailx 8.1.2-0.200909

Package:
bsd-mailx
Source:
bsd-mailx
Description:
simple mail user agent
Submitter:
Franco Marenco
Date:
2011-10-26 22:13:36 UTC
Severity:
normal
#642940#5
Date:
2011-09-25 20:39:48 UTC
From:
To:
Occasionally (once in 10 I would say) emails disappears from
the Inbox, after changes have been saved within /usr/bin/mail
(linked to /usr/bin/bsd-mailx).

If you look in $MAIL, what you find is that the blank line
between the end of a message and the From_ line on the following
one has disappeared. Therefore the disappeared message has actually
been incorporated in the previous one.

Here is a transcript:

/home/m>mail
Mail version 8.1.2 01/15/2001.  Type ? for help.
"/var/spool/mail/m": 7 messages 3 new
    1 peternobile@gmail  Mon Jan 17 19:51  138/6705  Re: part time e altre novit
    2 peeliton@gmail.co  Mon Jan 17 19:51  142/6698  Re: part time e altre novit
    3 reedpass@tin.it    Fri Sep 23 18:21 25470/1954744 regalo Ancilina e foto C
    4 wr1541@blueyonder  Sat Sep 24 23:41  109/4818  Re: wet suit
 N  6 federica.magnific  Sun Sep 25 14:11   66/3309  gmail e liberta' di scelta
 N  7 root@m-netbook     Sun Sep 25 14:16   25/1151  exim paniclog on m-netbook
&
&
&
& s 5 +f
"/home/m/Mail/f" [Appended]
& h
    1 peternobile@gmail  Mon Jan 17 19:51  138/6705  Re: part time e altre novit
    2 peeliton@gmail.co  Mon Jan 17 19:51  142/6698  Re: part time e altre novit
    3 reedpass@tin.it    Fri Sep 23 18:21 25470/1954744 regalo Ancilina e foto C
    4 wr1541@blueyonder  Sat Sep 24 23:41  109/4818  Re: wet suit
 *  5 ellenientro@gmail  Sun Sep 25 14:11 12119/930427 LNI - NEWSLETTER 43
    6 federica.magnific  Sun Sep 25 14:11   66/3309  gmail e liberta' di scelta
& q
Held 6 messages in /var/spool/mail/m
/home/m>mail
Mail version 8.1.2 01/15/2001.  Type ? for help.
"/var/spool/mail/m": 5 messages
    2 peeliton@gmail.co  Mon Jan 17 19:51  142/6698  Re: part time e altre novit
    3 reedpass@tin.it    Fri Sep 23 18:21 25470/1954744 regalo Ancilina e foto C
    4 wr1541@blueyonder  Sat Sep 24 23:41  109/4818  Re: wet suit
    5 federica.magnific  Sun Sep 25 14:11   92/4482  gmail e liberta' di scelta
& q
As you see, message 7 in the above has disappeared!!
Actually, when you vi $MAIL you find that the blank line
between it and the preceeding message is missing.

Do you think there could be a fix?

Many thanks!
Franco


Linux m-netbook 2.6.32-23-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Fri Jun 11 07:54:58 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 14 2011-01-18 20:25 /lib/libc.so.6 -> libc-2.11.1.so

#642940#10
Date:
2011-10-24 22:22:54 UTC
From:
To:

Hello,

Nobody replied to this bug report. Am I the only one
with this problem (or maybe the only one still using
mailx)?

Anyhow, I attach a temporary fix. The attached program
fixmail.c will automatically fix your mailbox. I run
my e-mail via the mailx script (also attached) that
will automatically run fixmail.

There are certainly better ways to do this... but the
most important is not losing e-mails!

Cheers,
Franco

#642940#15
Date:
2011-10-24 22:51:10 UTC
From:
To:
Sorry, after further testing I found out that
the "exec" keyword in the script has to be removed.
Correct script attached.
Goodnight,
Franco

#642940#20
Date:
2011-10-26 21:20:39 UTC
From:
To:
Franco Marenco writes:

Hi,

Sorry, I cannot reproduce your bug:


test@vox:~$ mail
Mail version 8.1.2 01/15/2001.  Type ? for help.
"/var/mail/test": 7 messages 3 new
    1 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:19   42/1547  Processing of
    2 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:31   42/1551  Processing of
    3 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:41   61/2109  ispell_
    4 info@franchising.  Sun Mar 06 12:04  282/15642 =?koi8-
 N  6 galila00@att.net   Sun Mar 06 20:58   64/4042  Greetings from
 N  7 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Mon Mar 07 07:47   44/1656  Processing of
&
&
&
& s 5 +f
"/home/test/Mail/f" [Appended]
& h
    1 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:19   42/1547  Processing of
    2 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:31   42/1551  Processing of
    3 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:41   61/2109  ispell_
    4 info@franchising.  Sun Mar 06 12:04  282/15642 =?koi8
 *  5 xxvxv----xcxcxcvv  Sun Mar 06 15:32  333/21828 =?utf-
    6 galila00@att.net   Sun Mar 06 20:58   64/4042  Greetings from
& q
Held 6 messages in /var/mail/test
test@vox:~$ mail
Mail version 8.1.2 01/15/2001.  Type ? for help.
"/var/mail/test": 6 messages
    2 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:31   42/1551  Processing of
    3 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Sat Mar 05 16:41   61/2109  ispell_
    4 info@franchising.  Sun Mar 06 12:04  282/15642 =?koi8
    5 galila00@att.net   Sun Mar 06 20:58   65/4053  Greetings from
    6 ftpmaster@ftp-mas  Mon Mar 07 07:47   45/1667  Processing of



What is the exact version of bsd-mailx package (i.e. output of
COLUMNS=200 dpkg -l bsd-mailx)? Do you use Ubuntu or Debian and which
release? Could you please also send me your mailx settings (contents of
/etc/mail.rc and ~/.mailrc - obviously replace any private data like
mail addresses you might have there with some dummy staff)?


Regards,
robert

#642940#25
Date:
2011-10-26 21:48:19 UTC
From:
To:
Hello,

I cannot myself reproduce it, i.e. sometimes it happens and sometimes
not but I have not understood when...

As requested:

Distribution: Ubuntu 10.04.1 LTS
Mailx:        bsd-mailx 8.1.2-0.200909
Linux m-netbook 2.6.32-23-generic #37-Ubuntu SMP Fri Jun 11 07:54:58 UTC 2010 i686 GNU/Linux
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 14 2011-01-18 20:25 /lib/libc.so.6 -> libc-2.11.1.so


Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Cfg-files/Unpacked/Failed-cfg/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name                                         Version                                      Description
+++-============================================-============================================-========================================================================================================
ii  bsd-mailx                                    8.1.2-0.20090911cvs-2ubuntu1                 simple mail user agent

#642940#30
Date:
2011-10-26 21:52:19 UTC
From:
To:
I attach the two config files.
My .mailrc is nearly 20 years old and has survived
many versions of mailx on different operating systems.
Commented lines are really commented in the file.
Thanks.
Franco