Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbatt!ihnp4!qantel!lll-lcc!lll-crg!seismo!columbia!caip!brl-adm!brl-smoke!smoke!SRA@mit-xx.ARPA From: SRA@mit-xx.ARPA (Rob Austein) Newsgroups: net.mail.headers Subject: Can a user \"prod\" a remote host? Message-ID: <4164@brl-smoke.ARPA> Date: Fri, 26-Sep-86 06:22:48 EDT Article-I.D.: brl-smok.4164 Posted: Fri Sep 26 06:22:48 1986 Date-Received: Tue, 30-Sep-86 19:22:05 EDT Sender: news@brl-smoke.ARPA Lines: 19 In theory SMTP provides a facility that could be used the way you describe, the TURN command. To use it you'd call up the host you wanted to prod, negotiate a TURN (at which point you turn into an SMTP "server" instead of an SMTP "user"), then get instant gratification as the foreign machine dumped all its mail out to you. In practice I am not aware of any SMTP server that implements TURN except to negotiate a close correctly after a foreign site has inflicted a TURN on you. Too much hair, particularly for mailsystems where the smtp-server (mail listener) and smtp-user (mailer daemon) are two different program. There's also a potential for misuse by pinheads if something like TURN were implemented. For the case you mention it is pretty clearly justified, but what do you do about the bozo who calls you up as a regular habit because he thinks your retransmission queue scan time is too slow? Stop answering the phone, I guess.... --Rob Austein