python / python/pythondotorg

Bug: Downloading mail archives from Mailman3 often times out

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bug
Dominant language
Python
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Description

Describe the bug

I've been trying to download the mail archive for the python-list (comp.lang.python mirror) via https://mail.python.org/archives/list/python-list@python.org/ for history research purposes.

  • The complete download directly fails with a message that the request will time out.
  • The monthly download times out for a lot of months.
  • Using the URL parameters, I then tried half month downloads and even weekly downloads, but still get time outs.

In essence there appears to be no usable way to download the complete archive using this Mailman3 interface.

Using the old Mailman2 interface from https://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/, the downloads succeed without any problems - essentially those are static files, not files which the server needs to generate upon request.

Is there anything which could be done about this (e.g. extending timeouts or increasing VM sizing parameters) ?

Thanks.

To Reproduce
  1. Go to https://mail.python.org/archives/list/python-list@python.org/
  2. Try to download e.g. July 2001
Expected behavior

A working download without timeouts.

URL to the issue

https://mail.python.org/archives/list/python-list@python.org/

Screenshots
"![SCREENSHOT_DESCRIPTION](SCREENSHOT_LINK.png)"
Browsers

Chrome

Operating System

Windows

Browser Version

No response

Relevant log output

Additional context

No response

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the July 2001 download from https://mail.python.org/archives/list/python-list@python.org/ and compare complete, monthly, and smaller archive requests. Trace the archive download path and its timeout or generation behavior; done means the requested archive downloads successfully without timing out.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
backend
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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