Message is no longer available on the server

When I try to read select messages only 4 or 5 days old in this newsgroup I get the message in the
subject line. I use MS outlook express and my news server is news-server.hot.rr.com (roadrunner).
does anyone know why this is occurring?

"Sid" <sfincher@hot.rr.com> wrote in message news:V5h1a.5317$yn1.460882@twister.austin.rr.com...

> When I try to read select messages only 4 or 5 days old in
this newsgroup I
> get the message in the subject line. I use MS outlook
express and my news
> server is news-server.hot.rr.com (roadrunner). does
anyone know why this is
> occurring?

News servers drop messages after a certain time, or when they reach a certain number, or a
combination. It varies -- every ISP does it differently. There are also other reasons why messages
may not be available -- slow servers, slow networks, etc. Propagation isn't perfect.

Matt O.

"Sid" <sfincher@hot.rr.com> wrote in news:V5h1a.5317$yn1.460882@twister.austin.rr.com:

> When I try to read select messages only 4 or 5 days old in this newsgroup I get the message in the
> subject line. I use MS outlook express and my news server is news-server.hot.rr.com (roadrunner).
> does anyone know why this is occurring?

You need to ask your system administrator. Either their news feed is poor and they're not
getting all the messages or their news server is poor and they're not keeping messages for more
than a few days.

On Sun, 09 Feb 2003 00:16:53 GMT, "Sid" <sfincher@hot.rr.com> wrote:

>When I try to read select messages only 4 or 5 days old in this newsgroup I get the message in the
>subject line. I use MS outlook express and my news server is news-server.hot.rr.com (roadrunner).
>does anyone know why this is occurring?

It's normal - but if you change to a different news server you may get better results. Some ISPs
clutter their news servers up with binary NGs which means they may have a more aggressive purge
policy. I use news.cis.dfn.de which is free and carries only text groups, because my ISPs service
sucks badly.

HTH

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote:
>
> On Sun, 09 Feb 2003 00:16:53 GMT, "Sid" <sfincher@hot.rr.com> wrote:
>
> >When I try to read select messages only 4 or 5 days old in this newsgroup I get the message in
> >the subject line. I use MS outlook express and my news server is news-server.hot.rr.com
> >(roadrunner). does anyone know why this is occurring?
>
> It's normal - but if you change to a different news server you may get better results. Some ISPs
> clutter their news servers up with binary NGs which means they may have a more aggressive purge
> policy. I use news.cis.dfn.de which is free and carries only text groups, because my ISPs service
> sucks badly.
>
> HTH

Some ISPs are knowledgeable enough to set retention policies differently for different groups. The
ISP I used to work for set retentions for non alt.* to 30 days, alt.* was 14 days, and the porn
binary groups were along the lines of 2 days.

Barry

On Sun, 09 Feb 2003 12:34:41 GMT, "B a r r y B u r k e J r ." <"keep it in the newsgroup
"@thankyou.com> wrote:

>Some ISPs are knowledgeable enough to set retention policies differently for different groups

Indeed - but some just suck :-)

I'm with my ISP because until recently they were the *only* ISP who could offer me xDSL service. Now
there's competition, but only if I take two weeks offline while they "administer" the change - which
involves switching the billing from one company to another for precisely the same equipment in
precisely the same exchange. I am twenty feet from the end of the cable cable provider's network,
and they refuse to go the extra distance.

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

Thanks for the replies. I guess it could be a lot of things. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or
reason to the "unavailability" of the messages. Maybe it is just some bad transmissions or
corruption on the part of the server. One message will be unavailable, but then the next older
message is available.

I contacted my ISP's (roadrunner) online help chat service. They were clueless. I think I know more
about newsgroups (which isn't much) than their technical support person. Oh well.

Sid

"Sid" <sfincher@hot.rr.com> wrote in message news:V5h1a.5317$yn1.460882@twister.austin.rr.com...
> When I try to read select messages only 4 or 5 days old in this newsgroup
I
> get the message in the subject line. I use MS outlook express and my news server is
> news-server.hot.rr.com (roadrunner). does anyone know why this
is
> occurring?