What happens to emails that dont arrive at their destination?

Answer 1

Email is transfered using a protocol called SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). For all intents and purposes when you send an email, it's the responsibility of your mail client to drop it off with your mail server.

The mail server (called a Mail Transport Agent or MTA) parses the mail to: address, and figures out the domain the email is going to (for example, it seperates [e-mail], and determines that joe's domain is yahoo.com. It then uses the DNS system to look up the MX (mail exchange) info for Yahoo.com. This is a server or list of servers who willl receive mail for Yahoo.com.

The MTA then tries to connect to that server, and initiate an SMTP conversation. Depending on how the receiving mail server is configured, it can do a lot of different things. Ultimately, it willl typically recieve the email and route it to joe's mailbox.

There are of course many things that can go wrong: the mail server at yahoo.com could be down, the mail server could reject the connection from your MTA, it could include a spam filter which could put the email in a spam folder, or it could simply accept the email and immediately discard it. It could lookup joe, and determine that no such user exists.

Most email servers assume that email servers sometimes have issues, and will attempt to resend a rejected email a number of times before giving up. For this reason, it's safe to assume that if your email isn't getting through, there is a specific reason. In recent years, spam has become such an issue that servers are less likely to return a result to the sending mta, because email admins don't want their mta to leak information about user accounts to spambots.

If your email seems to be going into a black hole, it's most likely some sort of spam detection routine.

Answer 2

probably the same place socks end up in the dryer

I personally never had mail just go nowhere, normally if there is in error the mail server will let the sender know or the person the mail was going to would see an error message. I guess there could be a weird case or 2 where the message is being sent from server to server and an error happens and its gone but there should be an error message of some sort plus there are many hard drives and back up hard drive and drives so it should never get lost

or it gets sent to an email address that does exists but not the right one and the person never lets you know its the wrong address

Answer 3

They get returned to the sender either immediately or after repeated tries by the mail server. For those mails that actually seem to "disappear", they remain in the mail server for a short duration (about 72 hours) before getting deleted permanently.

Answer 4

They go to email heaven. No, seriously, they are returned to the sender with an explanation like wrong email address.

Answer 5

i myself went on my first flight basically a week in the past to Alaska, and that i replaced into worried relating to a similar issues you have been. in the tip nonetheless, i myself had no longer something to fret approximately. question a million: the full technique is, in actuality: a million. you get on the airplane and placed your shop on below your seat 2. you turn off all digital gadgets like the pilot says and that i seize slightly gum (yet it is basically me) 3. you pay attention to the stewardess flow in the path of the emergency strategies 4. you velocity up on the runway and take off (now, you may bite gum like I do, yet your ears won't even pop. And, once you're taking off, no longer something somewhat takes place. you basically pay attention the wheels carry off the floor) 5. while the pilot says you're able to have electronics on, choose for it. landing is in actuality a similar: 6. pilot says to buckle up and change off electronics 7. your abdomen gets some butterflies while your decrease to the floor 8. your ears could pop, so bite slightly gum 9. you experience a reasonable thud and the sound of the wheels on the runway And there you flow! this is somewhat rather undemanding of a technique. question 2: you probably won't fall unwell in case you're taking a Dramamine jointly as your waiting to board. I took one each and every time just to be secure, and that i did basically fantastic. You in actuality basically experience like your sitting in a chair on the floor. question 3: nicely it is incredible in the experience that your ears do no longer pop! Mine did no longer, and that i replaced into so happy approximately it! there is not any longer something incorrect with your ears no longer popping. just to be on the secure ingredient, I bite slightly gum on take off and landing. question 4: once you're checking on your cost tag, and weighing your luggage, they supply you a tag which you connect on your bags and shop on, pointing out your call, handle, and make contact with quantity. so which you mustn't could difficulty approximately dropping your issues continuously. One final ingredient, have exciting. Flying isn't frightening. this is particularly form of exciting with the stewardess waiting on you.(:

Answer 6

No you are all wrong, the email will go to your Email Provider inbox ^^ and they will tell you that it's not deliverable :P

Answer 7

Unfortunately it's a great mystery how it vanishes into cyber space!

Answer 8

Depends. If the account exhists it goes to the person that owns it even if its the wrong person. But if it doesnt exhist it goes back to you...

Answer 9

The cookie monster eats them

Answer 10

They go to e-mail limbo.