It is a race condition. It only happens on my slower computer with slower sites. It happens with both w3m-el and w3m-el-snapshot . It can be simulated by unplugging your network connection and then trying to browse a site. w3m works fine.
I need to find the emacs variable to increase the number of seconds before it gives up. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [email protected] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [email protected]

