Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!apple!rutgers!maverick.ksu.ksu.edu!deimos.cis.ksu.edu!mccall!tp
From: tp@mccall.com
Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp
Subject: Re: Question about From: lines
Message-ID: <3001.2688df6b@mccall.com>
Date: 27 Jun 90 16:31:38 GMT
References: <14423@ucsd.Edu> <267E85F1.33B4@tct.uucp> <14495@ucsd.Edu> <1990Jun25.153424.27594@chinet.chi.il.us>
Organization: The McCall Pattern Co., Manhattan, KS, USA
Lines: 43

In article <1990Jun25.153424.27594@chinet.chi.il.us>, les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell) writes:
> Can someone explain how having a registered domain name helps anyone who
> doesn't hide multiple machines behind it (other than the obvious reason
> of the requirements of certain mailers)?  For the case of 1 uucp machine
> equals one second-level domain name, won't this just double the size
> of the pathalias lookup files if you put the names in the maps, or force
> everything to go through the internet (or at least uunet) if you don't?

It gives you a valid RFC822 address. Even if some mailer munges the From:
line to oblivion, someone can get your email address out of your signature.
(Aside: ALWAYS use a signature, because From: lines DO get munged. That's
directed at everyone, not anyone in particular.) This address is useable
from anywhere on the internet, or any uucp site with a smart mailer, and
even most Bitnet sites, I believe. People at uucp sites with dumb mailers
have to know how to route mail by hand anyway, and most of the know how to
route a message to the internet. If you aren't registered, but are in the
maps, your From: lines will usually be useless. People that are not at uucp
sites with smart mailers must specifically know how to mail to an
unregistered site, which generally involves setting up weird addresses to
get things to go to the right gateways (you also have to know which
gateways to use). If you aren't even in the maps, hang it up.

> Could machines that forward to uucp sites hide the path information in
> their subdomain name space instead of the local-part of the address
> where it is often misinterpreted?

Sure, if they choose. It works reasonably well, except that you have to
keep explaining that you don't really work for xyz... Seriously, this works
well (I used to be tp@mccall.claremont.edu). I expect the reason it isn't
done more is that registering a domain makes you responsible for your
subdomains, and thus answerable for the activities of machines within your
domain, if not in any legal sense, at least as to the reputation of the
company/organization owning the domain. The admin would have to trust you,
basically, not to embarrass him. Also, some object to it on esthetic
grounds ("But your machine ISN'T part of the university..."). It'd be funny
if we started seeing host names like:

    pcbbs.NotPartOf.Berkeley.edu

-- 
Terry Poot <tp@mccall.com>                The McCall Pattern Company
(uucp: ...!rutgers!ksuvax1!mccall!tp)     615 McCall Road
(800)255-2762, in KS (913)776-4041        Manhattan, KS 66502, USA