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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!clyde!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!trsvax!gordon
From: gordon@trsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: MCI MAIL - (nf)
Message-ID: <3685@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Nov-83 23:13:01 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.3685
Posted: Thu Nov  3 23:13:01 1983
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Nov-83 02:12:04 EST
Lines: 42

#R:cbosgd:-45300:trsvax:53300005:000:2307
trsvax!gordon    Nov  2 12:59:00 1983

cbosgd!mark, you understand correctly that there can be more than
one user JSMITH in MCI Mail.  This is shown as an example in the 
"welcome" packet, although I don't think they used that particular name.  

There is a "MCI Mail id" number, which seems to be of the form nnn-nnnn,
that uniquely identifies a user.  That can be used if you routinely send
mail to JSMITH and there are enough JSMITH's to make it annoying.  This
id number is printed along with the company, address, and full name of
the user when you are given the choices, so you can find out the id number 
by wading through the choices once, then just writing down the id number.  

I don't recall exactly, but there was some implication that you can
use the full name of the recipient, and it may match on that.  You might
have to get the periods and spacing exact.  It will take full names
on letters and not find a match when it isn't supposed to - in this case
it was being sent on paper.

You are going to have problems with gateways, unless MCI Mail does something
different on its end.  Your return address is generated automatically 
(in this case, one for the gateway account).  A smart interface program
will have to wade through the menus and expect several different responses
and take appropriate action, as in "User not recognized" or multiple choice
for the specified user.  It will have an even worse nightmare trying to
do a reasonable job of billing the sender.  This problem is more one of
the nature of the uucp network than the way MCI Mail works.  MCI Mail 
appears to offer special breakdowns by project, etc., but you seem to have 
to use a different login/password to identify which project the bill belongs 
to.  (I am not absolutely sure of this, but the intent was at least that 
each individual have a separate login/password combination).  Billing
can, of course, be done by the gateway program itself, before handing
it off, but I see lots of problems in getting people to pay up.  
Anyone operating a gateway that does not charge back the users or authorize
specific users only is going to find itself, once it gets known, an
extremely cost-competitive (free) alternative to the 20 cent stamp, and
the gateway operator is going to go broke, fast.


				Gordon Burditt
				...!{ctvax,microsoft}!trsvax!gordon