mailing list vs. usenet?

[Tim Peters]

[posted & mailed]

[John Schmitt]
> Are all the messages that get posted to comp.lang.python copied
> to this mailing list?  I just looked at dejanews.com and saw some
> messages that didn't seem to appear on this list.

In theory, it's a two-way street, except that some kinds of spam posted to
the newsgroup shouldn't show up on the mailing list.

In practice, the hardware running the python.org mailing lists is inadequate
(in particular, runs out of disk space routinely), and the newsfeed is
sometimes flaky too.  Given "the usual" vagaries of newsfeed propagation,
even if everything is working perfectly, seeing a *recent* msg on DejaNews
(or any other specific news server) says nothing about whether it will show
up on the mailing list.

The most common failure mode over the years is msgs mailed to the mailing
list that never make it to the newsgroup.  Indeed, some of the best msgs
ever posted <wink>.

it's-software-it's-unreliable-ly y'rs  - tim