Xref: utzoo comp.mail.elm:464 comp.mail.uucp:1212
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!killer!mjbtn!root
From: root@mjbtn.UUCP (Mark J. Bailey)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm,comp.mail.uucp
Subject: Re: Question on address styles
Message-ID: <235@mjbtn.UUCP>
Date: 11 Apr 88 12:32:30 GMT
References: <379@tness7.UUCP>
Organization: JobSoft Design & Development, Murfreesboro, TN USA
Lines: 60
Keywords: internet style versus bang style
Summary: it is safest to use all bangs

In article <379@tness7.UUCP>, mechjgh@tness7.UUCP (Greg Hackney ) writes:
> Using the Elm mailer, I type the address:
> 
>     murthy@svax.cs.cornell.edu
> 
> Elm reads the paths file, and changes it to the
> shortest route:
> 
>     bellcore!rutgers!murthy@svax.CS.CORNELL.EDU
> 
> rutgers kicks it back as an UNKNOWN host, but it
> WILL accept this address:
> 
>     bellcore!rutgers!svax.cs.cornell.edu!murthy
> 
> Is it rutgers, Elm, or my domains and paths file that is screwed,
> or all of the above?

You would probably be safest to have your rewrite rules in your domains
file write the address to the whole bang path address that rutgers did
accept.  It has to do with the precedence given to '@' over '!' on some
systems, while the '!' is given precedence over '@' on others.  This of
course makes two entirely different addresses out the address you entered.

For example, say '@' over '!', h1!h2!h3!user@system.domin would be interpretted
as (h1!h2!h3!h4!user)@system.domain which means that from system, send via
uucp to h1!h2!h3!h4!user.  If it were '!' over '@', then the same address would
breakup as h1!h2!h3!h4!(user@system.domain), which is what I assume you are
wanting.  My mailer, smail, gives precedence of '@' over '!'.

I had similar experiences with trying to send mail via ucbvax to a user on
BITNET via ucbvax.  I gave it 'h1!h2!h3!ucbvax!user@system.BITNET'.  What 
happened was that it managed to get to ucbvax without some other system
in between from parsing it differently (ie, it made it to ucbvax on the
bang path safely), but at ucbvax, it was parsed to be mailed to 'h1!h2!h3!
ucbvax!user' and of course, h1 was not connected directly to ucbvax, so
it returned it as host unknown.

This is sort of a crude explanation, but once I changed my rewrite rules in
the domains file to all bang path generation, it worked like a charm.  My
mailer actually rewrites everything to bang paths too, so I can't be too far
off.

Hope this helps.

Mark.



-- 
       Mark J. Bailey  _____________________________________________________
      _________________\                                              _____|
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<______________________________________________+_______/        JobSoft     
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