Errors-to: owner-drums@CS.UTK.EDU
Message-Id: <199505311934.PAA16627@CS.UTK.EDU>
Date:        Wed, 31 May 1995 21:18:28 +0200
From: Eric Thomas <ERIC@SEARN.SUNET.SE>
Subject:     Re: getting started
To: drums@CS.UTK.EDU
In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 31 May 1995 14:49:50 -0400 from Dave Barr
             <barr@math.psu.edu>

On Wed, 31 May 1995 14:49:50 -0400 Dave Barr <barr@math.psu.edu> said:

>1. When a  MTA needs to generate  a bounce message, what  is the correct
>   address to use?  (answer: envelope FROM). Granted  there are gateways
>   which  destroy  this out-of-band  address,  but  they should  not  be
>   allowed to coexist with the Internet mail system.

I propose  going one step further  and banning all non-unix  systems from
the Internet.  Ah, and require that  unix systems use sendmail.  This way
all  the problems  are  solved and  it's clear  for  everyone what  we're
talking about.

It's easy for you to make this kind of demand, but there are MANY popular
mail  systems that  don't have  a  concept of  "errors go  to address  1,
replies go to address  2". So you have two options.  You can gateway them
imperfectly, or  not gateway them.  You can  also improve them,  but this
takes time, just  as introducing MIME is taking time.  Now, do you really
want to tell MS that they can't  gateway MS Mail to the Internet and must
set  up their  own  MS-only network  with no  data  interchange with  the
Internet? Above all,  do you want to tell the  majority of Internet sites
that heavily  rely on PC mail  packages that they can't  interface to the
Internet any  longer and that  they will have  to get an  MSDN connection
instead? I'm sure Gates would be delighted to hear that :-)

  Eric