Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site philabs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!dal
From: dal@philabs.UUCP (Dan Lorenzini)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: a mail routing service
Message-ID: <27322@philabs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Aug-83 17:15:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: philabs.27322
Posted: Mon Aug 15 17:15:35 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Aug-83 00:55:05 EDT
References: <173@cbosgd.UUCP>
Organization: Philips Labs, Briarcliff Manor, NY
Lines: 40

With regard to Karen Horton's suggestion of providing a mail routing service
(for a price), it seems to me that we can use Usenet itself to distribute this
information instead.

My proposal is to create a newsgroup, such as net.mail.path, and then put a
line in crontab like:

0 4 1 * * inews -t "Paths for mysite" -n net.mail.path < /usr/lib/paths/mysite

which would post your local paths file to the net every month.  Then this
newsgroup would always have an up to date database of path data.  Obviously,
everyone would have to agree to a specific format (my vote goes for Steve
Bellovin's pathalias format, since this includes "cost" information) and there
would have to be a conversion program to remove headers (or change them into
comments).  Also, expiration times would have to be considered, and the
possibility of there being more than one article from a particular site (for
various reasons: spurious duplicate articles, overlap between new article
posting and old article expiration, etc.).  However, these problems seem to me
to be minor ones.

In addition, the current (best?) version of pathalias software could be posted
to net.sources.  Note that nmail can also use the output of pathalias.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for someone making a buck.  I just think
there are other problems that would be caused by cbosgd!ksh's suggestion,
(beside the cost), not the least of which is the possibility of "bootlegging"
path aliases (psst -- want to buy some paths cheap?), people trying to break
into other machines for their paths, etc.

I also think that my plan is more in keeping with the spirit of Usenet
(whatever that means) and is something that might serve to prove the worth of
the net (net worth?) for purposes other than finding out how to nuke the
slugs in your garden.

So, how about it, folks?  If this does or does not make sense, post or mail
your ideas because there obviously is a crying need for some kind of mail
routing distribution.

					Dan Lorenzini
					philabs!dal