Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc Subject: Re: configurable delimiters needed in aliases file for x.400 addresses Message-ID: <7DU4+L3@ficc.ferranti.com> Date: 22 Jul 90 15:58:45 GMT References: <40713@think.Think.COM> <40888@think.Think.COM> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 31 In article <40888@think.Think.COM> barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) writes: > In article peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) writes: > >In article <40713@think.Think.COM> barmar@think.com (Barry Margolin) writes: > >> The days are long gone when we should expect ordinary users to type > >> "addresses" into their mail system user interfaces. > >I really don't see why E-mail addresses need be any more complex than > >phone-numbers, or street addresses at the worst. > Because email addresses have to be processed by computers, and used for > looking up information in a worldwide distributed database, and intended to > specify a particular person and even a specific choice of the roles the > person plays. What is a "person" or "role" in the context of a mail system? It's just a mailbox. A "container" that messages are put in. Whether it's "peter@ferranti.com" or "Postmaster@ferranti.com" it still gets to me. > On the other hand, street addresses are processed by humans. Right, and this allows them to be *more complex* than prone numbers or email addresses. Computers need a simpler designation for a mailbox: they're not very good at the sort of free association needed to deliver mail to "MOBY, HOUSTON, TEXAS" to a particular radio personality. > And phone > numbers don't get you to a particular person, they just get you to a phone > -- you still have to ask whoever answers "May I speak to so-and-so?". And email doesn't get you to a particular person, either. It just gets you to a mailbox. And that's true for UUCP path mail, DNS mail, or X.400 mail. -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' +1 713 274 5180. 'U`