Over the past few weeks I've found that Spamcop creates multiple copies of some messages. Each such message is forwarded once from my ISP to my spamcop account. (At least I assume such since it only appears once in my inbox at my ISP and I've provided for forwarding once to my spamcop account.) The duplicates appear two or three times in my spamcop inbox. Their headers differ slightly from copy to copy.

Here are the headers of a message that appears twice in my spamcom mailbox. The differences that I can see are in bold.

Copy 1:
Return-Path: <email_bounce_handler[at]bounce.convio.net>
Delivered-To: spamcop-net-hmhalff[at]spamcop.net
Received: (qmail 16061 invoked from network); 6 Aug 2007 14:01:14 -0000
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.8 (2007-02-13) on blade3.cesmail.net
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: hits=0.8 tests=HTML_FONT_FACE_BAD,HTML_MESSAGE,
HTML_TAG_EXIST_TBODY,PORN_URL_SEX version=3.1.8
Received: from unknown (192.168.1.103)
by blade3.cesmail.net with QMQP; 6 Aug 2007 14:01:14 -0000
Received: from swarthymail-mx1.g.dreamhost.com (HELO swarthymail-mx2.g.dreamhost.com) (208.113.200.31)
by mx53.cesmail.net with SMTP; 6 Aug 2007 14:00:57 -0000
Received: from cluster2.convio.net (cluster2.convio.net [66.45.103.125])
by swarthymail-mx2.g.dreamhost.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5C97E80C49
for <henry[at]quiensabe.com>; Mon, 6 Aug 2007 07:00:56 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from unknown (HELO localhost) ([10.0.2.54])
by cluster2.convio.net with ESMTP; 06 Aug 2007 09:00:56 -0500
Message-ID: <32766479.1186408842600.JavaMail.www[at]app22>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 08:54:42 -0500 (CDT)
From: Carolyn Connerat <txfund[at]www.utexas.edu>
Reply-To: Carolyn Connerat <txfund[at]www.utexas.edu>
To: henry[at]quiensabe.com
Subject: Time is Running Out
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="----=_Part_14446716_10138889.1186408842041"
Organization: Texas Exes Online Services
X-campaignid: ut-13263
X-Gateway: forward
XData: 1010,4KtMnMy[at]Mtt9n[at]449e[at]i-Wwjq-e
X-SpamCop-Checked: 192.168.1.103 208.113.200.31 66.45.103.125 10.0.2.54

Copy 2:
Return-Path: <email_bounce_handler[at]bounce.convio.net>
Delivered-To: spamcop-net-hmhalff[at]spamcop.net
Received: (qmail 29155 invoked from network); 6 Aug 2007 14:01:08 -0000
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.8 (2007-02-13) on blade1
X-Spam-Level:
X-Spam-Status: hits=0.8 tests=HTML_FONT_FACE_BAD,HTML_MESSAGE,
HTML_TAG_EXIST_TBODY,PORN_URL_SEX version=3.1.8
Received: from unknown (192.168.1.101)
by blade1.cesmail.net with QMQP; 6 Aug 2007 14:01:08 -0000
Received: from swarthymail-mx1.g.dreamhost.com (HELO swarthymail-mx2.g.dreamhost.com) (208.113.200.31)
by mailgate.cesmail.net with SMTP; 6 Aug 2007 14:01:08 -0000
Received: from cluster2.convio.net (cluster2.convio.net [66.45.103.125])
by swarthymail-mx2.g.dreamhost.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5C97E80C49
for <henry[at]quiensabe.com>; Mon, 6 Aug 2007 07:00:56 -0700 (PDT)
Received: from unknown (HELO localhost) ([10.0.2.54])
by cluster2.convio.net with ESMTP; 06 Aug 2007 09:00:56 -0500
Message-ID: <32766479.1186408842600.JavaMail.www[at]app22>
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 08:54:42 -0500 (CDT)
From: Carolyn Connerat <txfund[at]www.utexas.edu>
Reply-To: Carolyn Connerat <txfund[at]www.utexas.edu>
To: henry[at]quiensabe.com
Subject: Time is Running Out
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="----=_Part_14446716_10138889.1186408842041"
Organization: Texas Exes Online Services
X-campaignid: ut-13263
X-Gateway: forward
XData: 1010,4KtMnMy[at]Mtt9n[at]449e[at]i-Wwjq-e
X-SpamCop-Checked: 192.168.1.101 208.113.200.31 66.45.103.125 10.0.2.54

In all of the duplicates I see one copy received swarthymail [my ISP's server] ... by mx53.cesmail.net and another received by swarthymail ... mailgate.cesmail.net. In some the timestamps are off by almost exactly by an hour. In others, by a few seconds. I also see the servers blade1.cesmail, blade3.cesmail, and filter8.cesmail in the chain.

What's going on?

Both sets of headers share the same message ID, so it is the same message being forwarded. Seeing as the transfer is SMTP, about the only cause would be that your ISPs mail server is pushing that message out twice.

I thought about this possibility, but could not see how my ISP could push the same message twice (or three times) to different servers at cesmail.net. Nonetheless, I shall pursue the matter with them.

hh

Just a thought oe two ....
One e-mail based on the ToL address ... the second e-mail based on the same e-mail address being included in the BCC: list ....

One copy being sent from the actual InBox, the second being delayed due to handling by a spam box analyzer ... but that's a hard one to guess at just what kind of configuration of what systems hardware/software that would be involved with something as strange as this ...

Another possibility since one always has the mailgate system (which is SpamCop's POP system). Are you using a forward and save at your ISP and have SpamCop POPping the message?

Options, SpamCop Tools, Configure external POP servers.

I have my ISP configured to forward only to Spamcop. I normally get my email from Spamcop using a POP client, but the duplicate messages also show up in my spamcop webmail.

When I temporarily set my ISP to both save and forward, I see no duplicates on my ISP's server, only on spamcop's.

I don't know what Configure external POP servers does, but when I tried it on my mail account I got an error count of 0.

Turns out that you are right. The problem lies with my ISP. I set up forwarding to another mailbox on another service and found duplicate messages there as well.

thanks for working it through and providing the follow-up.