Errors-to: owner-drums@CS.UTK.EDU
Message-Id: <199505312336.TAA05933@CS.UTK.EDU>
Date:        Thu, 1 Jun 1995 01:23:55 +0200
From: Eric Thomas <ERIC@SEARN.SUNET.SE>
Subject:     Re: getting started
To: drums@CS.UTK.EDU, Robert Elz <kre@munnari.oz.au>
In-Reply-To: Message of Thu, 01 Jun 1995 07:34:24 +1000 from Robert Elz
             <kre@munnari.oz.au>

On Thu, 01 Jun 1995 07:34:24 +1000 Robert Elz <kre@munnari.oz.au> said:

>That is, the gateway just needs  a database, all messages going into the
>brain dead mail system have their  From: lines totally replaced, and now
>refer  to  magic-number@gateway.  Messages  sent  to  that  address  are
>inspected, if they are some kind  of bounce message, then the message is
>returned to  the original rfc821 envelope  address, if its a  reply, the
>message is  returned to  the original Reply-To,  or From  address. (...)
>There are a bunch of issues to work out - when to clean up the database,
>etc - plus users getting mail from the same person over and over, with a
>different address  each time, but it  is the kind of  solution that will
>protect the internet, and that's what internet gateways should install.

You're right, what  I really meant is  that if you limit  yourself to the
solutions that would  actually sell, it is  technically impossible. Since
noone  can  mandate that  "if  you  don't do  X  you  can't gate  to  the
Internet", the hard reality is that  if dutiful company X implements your
scheme and couldn't-care-less  company Y just stuffs  the Reply-To: field
in the one size fits all origin  field, people will all buy the company Y
product and company X will be out  of business. You have no idea how much
whining you can get as a list  owner from people whose mail program shows
the *poster*  rather than the *list*  as message originator in  the inbox
directory. People actually switch to other mail packages just for that. I
shudder  at  the thought  of  the  amount  of  hate mail  addresses  like
028349783847845@gateway would generate.

  Eric