ok, i have found the problem. someone's home-grown mail server is f/&%ed up. as a temporary fix, i set a spamfilter rule to catch the annoying 2 messages. i'm too tired for a real solution, and will be going to bed now. i hope steve and chris will forgive me, because the poor guys get a rejection message every minute or so... <tongue class="in_cheek"> if somebody feels bored, try to take the problem host down after writing a friendly message to the owner (hint: the ancient ipop-2 exploit seems not to work). sigh. why do distros come with public mail servers? </> Joern Nettingsmeier wrote: -- The handles of a craftsman's tools bespeak an absolute simplicity, the plainest forms affording the greatest range of possibilities for the user's hand. That which is overdesigned, too highly specific, anticipates outcome; the anticipation of outcome guarantees, if not failure, the absence of grace. - William Gibson, "All Tomorrow's Parties" Jörn Nettingsmeier Kurfürstenstr 49, 45138 Essen, Germany http://spunk.dnsalias.org (my server) http://www.linuxaudiodev.org (Linux Audio Developers)