Shauk

I feel kinda like I was talked down to at work and it's kinda bugging me.


troubleshooting someone's email issues, basically they've got a hosted webspace that has email capabilities both via pop.domainname.com and a control panel page running hordemail (kind of a web-based email for the webspace)


anyways, this lady has about 20 email accounts with us and just ONE of them, happens to be configured on a mac with thunderbird. She was having duped messages everytime she went to go check it.


She called me up for support and quite frankly, I TIRE of these inane calls at times where people can't logic their way through some of the simplest issues.

Think for a moment, you have 20 accounts and they all use the same server, but this one computer is duping the messages, it's our problem?

anyways, I log directly in to her webspace/hordemail with one computer and log in to my support email account with another, send an email over from that one to her address and ONE message shows up, as suspected.

great.

I tell her to check her mail
she says she got two

I was able to reproduce this 4 times, I was also able to pull up this as a known issue with thunderbird, I was also able to find a plug-in for thunderbird that specifically was written to removed duped messages since this was a known issue and people took it in to their own hands.

So then, she pretty much pretends to agree with me that it's her problem.


well she then calls back after I'm off work and talks to my co-worker.

I come back in the next day and notice some dialogue about this account between my other co-worker who doesn't seem to have a clue as to what is going on, and a sr admin, where he's just asking "whats wrong with her account?"


I try not to bug the sr. admins with trivial B.S. like this because it's not really what they do, and it makes you look bad if you can't handle it.

anyways I shot off an email explaining everything I did, in full detail, then I get this...



anyone else here think he's a bit wrong with "it's the only right way"?

you basically have one computer showing you the real contents of the mailbox, and another one sending one copy of said message to this mail box.

you send one, and it receives one, and "tada" she recieves 2?

I guess he could be right but, damn, 1 out of 20 accounts, known issue with thunderbird, and all other evidence would just suggest I'd be in the clear.

feck.

inkriminator

I don't understand internet protocols that well, but your senior admin is either: 1) unaware of what happened or; 2) an ass.

I think given the circumstances it is entirely reasonable to "assume" that it was a problem on the client's end, because: 1) the problem wasn't reproducible outside of the client computer and; 2) the time involved to run the patch to confirm or deny the suggestion was minimal.

The situation would be different if the solution to the problem was very intensive, in that situation you would want to spend more time diagnosing the problem properly before you fixed it.

In this case, it is more efficient to make the assumption, act on it, and see if the problem is fixed.

Cliffnotes = Sr. Admin is talking out his ass, you were right.

Daniel_

Thought experiment:

1) Suppose he was right.

You go head to head with him, get proved wrong. Now your boss knows you're an arse.

2) Suppose you were right.

You go head to head with him, get proved right. Now your boss knows you've made him look stupid (therefore you're an arse).

Only way to win is to not play.

The more right you are, the more true this gets.

__________________

╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
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MSD

The customer is always right. If the customer is wrong, it's your fault.

iamnormal

What is better evidence to have? A guesstimate of what the problem is or proof to where the problem is.
Maybe she would sue

Shauk

sue? lol

yeah I didn't even respond to his message to me *shrug* whatever.

Jinn

You're right, but doing it his way is additional proof that you're right.

What harm is there in doing what he asked? It'll only serve to validate your, IMO, correct assumption.

__________________
"I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel

vanblah

It's really not a question of right or wrong. When it comes to email ALWAYS get header information if you can.

Is it necessary in this case? Probably not. But it is certainly a form of CYA.