Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!decwrl!ucbvax!TRANSARC.COM!Craig_Everhart
From: Craig_Everhart@TRANSARC.COM
Newsgroups: comp.soft-sys.andrew
Subject: Re: Another strange WP problem...
Message-ID: <IbiiQtz0BwwO8rYKNU@transarc.com>
Date: 14 Feb 91 19:38:33 GMT
References: <kbdZ6Sm4lU4LRPKlMc@sadye.uvm.edu>
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Organization: The Internet
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Excerpts from internet.info-andrew: 29-Jan-91 Another strange WP
problem... Garrett Wollman@griffin. (1152)

> I enter a To: address of tom.emerson.  Upon submission, cui tells me
> The name 'Tom Emerson <tree@sadye.uvm.edu>' is ambiguous.
> It then lists my alternatives:
> "Tree,,," (others) <emerson@sadye.uvm.edu>
> Tom Emerson (staff) <tree@sadye.uvm.edu>

> I, knowing Tree, direct CUI to send it to the second alternative.  Wups!

> The name 'Tom Emerson <tree@sadye.uvm.edu>' is ambiguous.
> [and on it goes]

I'll admit that this is a bit odd.

The problem is that the fully-canonicalized address (local name
``tree'') isn't itself unique, since it matches the surname (or complete
name) of one account and the userid of another.  What do you believe
should happen to mail addressed to ``tree''?

Yes, it looks weird that CUI asks the question but isn't happy with the
answer that you want to give.  But maybe I can get away with calling
this a problem in the set of local names; maybe not.

AMDS wouldn't do this, since the canonicalized address list would look like:
"Tree,,," (others) <emerson+@sadye.uvm.edu>
Tom Emerson (staff) <tree+@sadye.uvm.edu>

and whichever one you chose would have the plus-sign decoration telling
AMDS (and CUI) that the preceding entity was a userid, not a user name.

I can look into getting the WP version of finger, but it's not a pretty thing.

		Craig