Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!mp.cs.niu.edu!rickert From: rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc Subject: Re: PLEASE NOTE: CS is an official top level domain now!!! Message-ID: <1990Dec20.232606.1302@mp.cs.niu.edu> Date: 20 Dec 90 23:26:06 GMT References: <2058@mcsun.eu.net> <1990Dec19.145937.3094@cs.widener.edu> <1990Dec20.212439.4507@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> Organization: Northern Illinois University Lines: 34 In article <1990Dec20.212439.4507@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> jbaltz@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (Jerry B. Altzman) writes: >In article <1990Dec19.145937.3094@cs.widener.edu> brendan@cs.widener.edu (Brendan Kehoe) writes: > >> I may be in a minority here, but don't you think this is going to >>really wreak havoc? Irregardless that my subdomain is cs (what else >>would it be? compsci.widener.edu?), > >So, don't send mail to user@host.cs, but now user@host.cs.widener.edu, or >just make 'host' unique under cs. > I think the problem is the reverse of what has been stated. With most mail setups, mail addressed to 'host.cs' where 'host.cs.widener.edu' will not go to Czechoslovakia by mistake. Rather, mail intended for 'host.cs' in Czechoslovakia will go to 'host.cs.widener.edu' by mistake. This is because of the design of many mail system to attempt to qualify in the local domain first. The only reliable approach is to qualify in the local domain only if the domain name is completely unqualified (no periods). Otherwise treat the name as already fully qualified. In other words, don't use RES_DNSRCH in domain lookups. Note that this is primarily a mail problem. Spurious qualification is not much of a problem with telnet/ftp/rlogin etc, because the connections are interactive, and there are ways of correcting the problem. But with email the connection occurs in the background where you don't see the problems until it is too late. -- =*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*= Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science Northern Illinois Univ. DeKalb, IL 60115 +1-815-753-6940