A Curiosity Question

[hazelm]

If an area of the internet is down and you send an email to a friend who lives in that area, is it possible that - say Gmail or some carrier - "knows" (note quotes) the letter cannot arrive at the other end and will hold it in your Draft folder?

 

I know that sounds silly.  I ask because of what happened a few days ago.  The internet was down in part of California where a friend lives.  I  always send her one letter a day.  To get that done, I went ahead with it but it stayed in my Draft folder and refused to go.  I gave up and left it.  Hours later, when the internet came back up, I got a letter from my friend and immediately was able to send the one in  Drafts.

 

Was it just coincidence?  I am thinking so but wondered if anyone knows more.  Nothing they have made possible these days surprises me.

Edited July 21, 2017 by hazelm

[Buffy]

You submit it to your mail server, and it sits there until your mail server can contact the other person's server and deliver it. It's just polling, not rocket science....although some bits of how the IP protocol works are nothing short of magic, just not in this case.

 

Other scenarios:

If your mail client (e.g. Outlook) can't reach your own mail server, it will sit in your Outbox until your mail program--again, using polling--can send it out.

 

If you and your friend are on the *same* mail server, the mail server puts it in your friend's mail box until she can pick it up.

 

None of this is obvious though, you you're right to inquire.

 

 

C is quirky, flawed, and an enormous success, :phones:

Buffy

[hazelm]

You submit it to your mail server, and it sits there until your mail server can contact the other person's server and deliver it. It's just polling, not rocket science....although some bits of how the IP protocol works are nothing short of magic, just not in this case.

 

Other scenarios:

If your mail client (e.g. Outlook) can't reach your own mail server, it will sit in your Outbox until your mail program--again, using polling--can send it out.

 

If you and your friend are on the *same* mail server, the mail server puts it in your friend's mail box until she can pick it up.

 

None of this is obvious though, you you're right to inquire.

 

 

C is quirky, flawed, and an enormous success, :phones:

Buffy

So it should have been in my Outbox.  Funny that I don't remember an Outbox in Gmail. Or, have not looked closely.  Anyway, I am glad to know how that works.  Oh!  I may be using Gmail but my mail server would be my ISP.  Right?  Whichever, it does "know" something I did not know.  Thank you much.  Appreciate this.

[Buffy]

More complex combinations....

 

So it should have been in my Outbox.  Funny that I don't remember an Outbox in Gmail. Or, have not looked closely.  

 

If you're using GMail directly (or any other "web client"), then you're talking directly to your "mail server" over the internet. Thus going back to your original post, if you've got no internet you can't get to GMail itself at all. That is unless you've installed the chrome Gmail client, in which case it will hold your email until you're on line. Gmail doesn't really do an "outbox" even offline, but it's the same as if you have a regular email client program (like Outlook or Apple/iPhone Mail), which all do have an explicit "outbox" that you can look at.

 

Google just doesn't like you touching your stuff after you've given it to them because at that point they consider it their property. You're not the customer, you're the product.

 

Oh!  I may be using Gmail but my mail server would be my ISP.  Right?  

 

Your ISP simply carries your bits back and forth, and unless the FBI/CIA/NSA has executed a FISA or other warrant for your data, they don't keep it anywhere. If you use Gmail, Google has all your mail at all times. They pass it on to your friends if they feel like it. Mostly.

 

 

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you, :phones:

Buffy

[hazelm]

Thank you, Buffy.  It is always good to get further education from one who knows.