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Date: Tue, 16 Sep 1997 10:07:03 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chris Newman <Chris.Newman@innosoft.com>
Subject: Re: postmaster semantics?
In-reply-to: <19970916045612.17851.qmail@koobera.math.uic.edu>
To: Detailed Revision/Update of Message Standards <drums@cs.utk.edu>
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> RFC 822 says that the postmaster local-part must ``be valid at each
> site... routed to a person responsible for the site's mail system.''
> 
> What exactly does ``site'' mean?

Rather than complaining about RFC 822, let's look at the text from 821bis
where this concept is discussed:

> Any system that includes an SMTP server supporting mail relaying
> or delivery, i.e., the RCPT command, MUST support the reserved
> mailbox "postmaster" as a case-insensitive local name. This
> postmaster address is not strictly necessary if the server always
> returns 554 on connection opening (as described in section ##3.1).  The
> requirement to accept mail for postmaster implies that RCPT TO
> commands which specify a mailbox for postmaster at any of the domains
> for which the SMTP server provides mail service, as well as the
> special case of "RCPT TO:<Postmaster>" (with no domain specification),
> MUST be supported.

I think this is sufficiently clear.

		- Chris