Mailx error message

[root]

After fixing a typo error in my .mailrc file I have
been getting this message:
mailx: There are messages in the error ring, manageable via `errors' command

After over an hour searching for this message, and wading
through suggestions for the "errors" command, I have not
been able to figure out how to "manage" the errors ring.

Please help

[Henrik Carlqvist]

On Fri, 24 Feb 2023 15:48:55 +0000, root wrote:
> mailx: There are messages in the error ring, manageable via `errors'
> command
>
> After over an hour searching for this message, and wading through
> suggestions for the "errors" command, I have not been able to figure out
> how to "manage" the errors ring.

I don't use mailx much myself, I usually read and write mail using some
graphical mail client instead. However, studying man-pages I can see that
the errors command seem rather new, it is not mentioned in the man page
in Slackware 14.2 but it is mentioned in the man page on Slackware 15.0:

-8<----------------------------

errors [Option] As console user interfaces at times scroll error mes‐
sages by too fast and/or out of scope, data can additionally be
sent to an error queue manageable by this command: show or no
argument will display and clear the queue, clear will only
clear it. As the queue becomes filled with errors-limit en‐
tries the eldest entries are being dropped. There are also the
variables ^ERRQUEUE-COUNT and ^ERRQUEUE-EXISTS.

-8<----------------------------

regards Henrik

[Giovanni]

On 2/25/23 11:42, Henrik Carlqvist wrote:
> I don't use mailx much myself, I usually read and write mail using some
> graphical mail client instead. However, studying man-pages I can see that
> the errors command seem rather new, it is not mentioned in the man page
> in Slackware 14.2 but it is mentioned in the man page on Slackware 15.0:

mailx in 14.2 and mailx in 15.0 are two different programs, from
different packages. mailx-12.5 and s-nail-14.9 respectively

Ciao
Giovanni
--
A computer is like an air conditioner,
it stops working when you open Windows.
< https://giovanni.homelinux.net/ >

[root]

Henrik Carlqvist <Henrik.C...@deadspam.com> wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Feb 2023 15:48:55 +0000, root wrote:
>> mailx: There are messages in the error ring, manageable via `errors'
>> command
>>
>> After over an hour searching for this message, and wading through
>> suggestions for the "errors" command, I have not been able to figure out
>> how to "manage" the errors ring.
>
> I don't use mailx much myself, I usually read and write mail using some
> graphical mail client instead. However, studying man-pages I can see that
> the errors command seem rather new, it is not mentioned in the man page
> in Slackware 14.2 but it is mentioned in the man page on Slackware 15.0:
>
> -8<----------------------------
>

> errors [Option] As console user interfaces at times scroll error mes???

> sages by too fast and/or out of scope, data can additionally be
> sent to an error queue manageable by this command: show or no
> argument will display and clear the queue, clear will only

> clear it. As the queue becomes filled with errors-limit en???

> tries the eldest entries are being dropped. There are also the
> variables ^ERRQUEUE-COUNT and ^ERRQUEUE-EXISTS.
>
> -8<----------------------------
>
> regards Henrik

Thanks Henrik, but that doesn't tell me how to invoke "errors".
The problem is moot anyway, because the error messages have
disappeared. I am now facing a more important problem which
I will describe in another post.

[Henrik Carlqvist]

On Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:51:56 +0000, root wrote:
> but that doesn't tell me how to invoke "errors".

If I understand the man page correctly you simply type

errors

at the command line in mailx.

regards Henrik

[root]

I had tried that and it did not work.
Thanks again.

[Henrik Carlqvist]

I tried today at a Slackware 15.0 system were I had a mail in
/var/spool/mail to start "mail" (where /usr/bin/mail is a symbolic link
to mailx) and at the interactive mail prompt type:

errors

From that command I got the reply:

The error ring is empty

So the "errors" command seem to do something at the interactive mail
prompt.

regards Henrik

[root]

Henrik Carlqvist <Henrik.C...@deadspam.com> wrote:
>
> I tried today at a Slackware 15.0 system were I had a mail in
> /var/spool/mail to start "mail" (where /usr/bin/mail is a symbolic link
> to mailx) and at the interactive mail prompt type:
>
> errors
>
> From that command I got the reply:
>
> The error ring is empty
>
> So the "errors" command seem to do something at the interactive mail
> prompt.
>
> regards Henrik

Thanks Henrik. Since the error has gone away I can't reproduce
my experience. I suppose I did not try the errors command
directly but rather typed
~errors