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From: netinfo%ucbjade@ucb-vax.ARPA (Postmaster + BITINFO)
Newsgroups: net.mail.headers
Subject: Re: Mail looping
Message-ID: <1358@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 27-Feb-86 01:05:03 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.1358
Posted: Thu Feb 27 01:05:03 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 2-Mar-86 19:35:31 EST
Sender: news@brl-smoke.ARPA
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In reply to:

	Date: Wed 26 Feb 86 00:12:44-PST
	From: Mark Crispin <MRC%PANDA@sumex-aim.arpa>
	Subject: Re: Mail looping
	Message-Id: <12186377826.8.MRC@PANDA>

	     I'd argue that if you really care about loop abatement you will
	use what SMTP provides to help you out from this -- the EXPN command.
	That is, the sender fully resolves the destination list.  It isn't
	hard to detect loops when you do this.
	-------

Unfortunately, mail lists are not limited to the SMTP/RFC822 mail world. So
this is only a partial solution.  I suspect there is not one fail-safe method
and that a varies of methods will be needed to used to reduce looping.

One alternative that is less subject to looping is the USENET news distribution
system.  It is available for Unix systems and shortly will be available for
IBM CMS systems. I would prefer to see large mailing lists converted to
news groups. It is much nicer to see one message going between news/conference
systems than to see several duplications of the same message resulting
from mail list explosion being transmitted.  I suggest that the USENET
article/batch formats be adopted as a standard method of transporting
collective address messages between news and conferencing systems.

Bill Wells
netinfo%ucbjade@Berkeley.EDU