[KLUG Members] Email Question

[Adam Williams]

> I am looking for a citable source on how long it can take for an email 
> to be delivered.

Years.  There really is *NO* limit, standard, etc...  it depends VERY
much on the configuration of the MTA/MDAs between the original and
ultimate destination host.

Mail to Morrison-Ind via AOL has been documented to take almost two
*HOURS* on occasion, and frequently >30 minutes.

> Does anybody know of an article I can quote on this?

I hate to say it, but no.  And I doubt you'll find one.  Add up the
queue run time (usually between 5 - 15 minutes) of every MTA/MDA between
the origin and the destination to get the theoretical maximum - not
allowing for down connections, batch transfers, or transient failures.

And there may be more MTA/MDAs than you think; and things like virus
milters, etc... extend that time even more (although negligably for
small sites).