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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!ihnp4!plus5!hokey
From: hokey@plus5.UUCP (Hokey)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Name space explosion -- first tremors
Message-ID: <804@plus5.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 30-Jul-85 14:20:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: plus5.804
Posted: Tue Jul 30 14:20:03 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 31-Jul-85 20:16:12 EDT
References: <568@decuac.UUCP> <531@down.FUN> <570@decuac.UUCP> <537@down.FUN> <9390@ucbvax.ARPA> <2968@topaz.ARPA>
Reply-To: hokey@plus5.UUCP (Hokey)
Organization: Plus Five Computer Services, St. Louis, MO
Lines: 20

Chuck's point about abbreviations is well-taken and almost correct.

While it may be reasonable for his mailer to accept "red" as an abbreviation
for "red.rutgers.edu", that abbreviation *must* be expanded to a fully
qualified name before it leaves his site.

This way, unambiguous names are available and there is no additional
effort required by the user.  Furthermore, when people reply to the
messages, they don't have to type anything else because the recipients
are already given with fully specified domain addresses.

I disagree with your point that we can rely on reasonable behavior to prevent
somebody else from calling their site "allegra".  Eventually, problems will
occur, and I would rather solve the problem than increase the size of my dongle
to handle the additional situation.  There is already too much one has to know
in order to accomplish anything.

-- 
Hokey           ..ihnp4!plus5!hokey
		  314-725-9492