Date: Tue, 10 Oct 95 14:14:22 -0500
From: Eric Norman <ejnorman@macc.wisc.edu>
Reply-To: drums@cs.utk.edu
Message-Id: <9510101914.AA18082@dogie.macc.wisc.edu>
To: drums@cs.utk.edu
Subject: Re: What's the Sender header for?

> From: Robert Elz <Postmaster@munnari.oz.au>
> Sender: kre@munnari.oz.au

> I send mail from numerous different From: addresses, and my mailer,
> obeying rfc822, dutifully installs a Sender header whenever I
> provide the From: I wish to use for some particular message.

It seems possible to interpret RFC822 in such a manner that it
requires the Sender header above in this case; however,

> I most certainly do not want replies sent to my base address
> if I am doing that.  If, as in this message, I am sending from
> postmaster, then this must be postmaster related mail, and replies
> should return to postmaster in the normal case.

I think it can also be interpreted to mean that in this case the
AGENT effecting the transmission of this message should be
Postmaster@munnari.oz.au and hence there needn't be a Sender header
at all in this message.  My reading of RFC822 (4.4.2 "... when the
sender is not the author ...") makes me infer that kre@munnari.oz.au
is not the same entity as Postmaster@munnari.oz.au.  In this case,
the author of the message chose to be identified as Postmaster, which
I suppose is what you're saying.  That's fine with me, but in that
case, of what use is the kre@munnari.oz.au information to me?

This is related to Keith's report about MH's behavior that the
"real electronic mail address" is included in the message.  I am
asking where this concept of "real address" comes from.  What makes
an address "real"?  Why is it important to distinguish?  Isn't
Postmaster@munnari.oz.au just as "real" as any other workable address?

-- Eric Norman