Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!midway!clout!chinet!les From: les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell) Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp Subject: Re: limiting bounces Message-ID: <1991May14.143843.1017@chinet.chi.il.us> Date: 14 May 91 14:38:43 GMT References: <1991May11.151523.21852@unixland.uucp> <1991May14.005523.12586@unixland.uucp> Organization: Chinet - Chicago Public Access UNIX Lines: 23 In article <1991May14.005523.12586@unixland.uucp> bill@unixland.uucp (Bill Heiser) writes: >Is there any good reason to let a message bounce more than, say, TWICE? >??? Maybe. You can't know that the destination address is the same on a second or third pass through your machine even if you look at the From_ line and notice a!b!a!b etc. (Smail 3 doesn't). The destination address may have been modified by alias expansion or explicit forwarding on any or all of the hops. Plus, in a loop involving more than 3 machines you couldn't be sure that the duplicate names in the From_ path are actually the same machine. Smail3 just counts the Received: lines and only allows a configurable number. Anyway, the solution is to route correctly in the first place so this doesn't happen. If you are generating complete routes correctly and your neighbor is re-routing back through you, you had better start going around them. Likewise if you are using them as a smart-host and they are passing mail back to to you without expanding the path. Les Mikesell les@chinet.chi.il.us