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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!homxb!houxm!mhuxt!mhuxm!mhuxo!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!panda!teddy!jpn
From: jpn@teddy.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc,comp.mail.uucp
Subject: Re: Bracketing in mail addresses - NO NO NO NO NO
Message-ID: <4106@teddy.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Jun-87 17:05:43 EDT
Article-I.D.: teddy.4106
Posted: Mon Jun 15 17:05:43 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Jun-87 02:05:50 EDT
References: <16238@amdcad.AMD.COM> <3546@cbosgd.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: jpn@teddy.UUCP (John P. Nelson)
Organization: GenRad, Inc., Concord, Mass.
Lines: 44
Xref: utgpu comp.mail.misc:295 comp.mail.uucp:548

>>Objection:  There is no problem with precedence because @ always has
>>the highest precedence, and anything to the left of that is only
>>interpreted by the site named after the @.
>>
>>Response:  This is pure chauvinism.
>
>There ARE good reasons for doing it this way -- because that's the approved
>standard, mostly; if you do it this way, you mail will get through, and mail
>forwarded through your system will get through.  This is not chauvinism.

I think it's chauvinism.  Your internet standard/software may talk 
'@' addresses, but my software may not, and arbitrary sites between
me and my desired destination may not.

How about an example.  I need to send '@' mail to a site (call it
site3) three uucp hops away which is a gateway to an '@' network:
There is one site in the middle (call it "site2") which doesn't
understand '@' addresses (bear with me a moment!).  The site
immediately next to us (call it site1) interprets '@' addresses.  My
first guess at an address would be:

site1!site2!site3!user@foo.NETWORK

This won't work, because site1 interprets that '@', and tries to send
relay mail to foo.NETWORK, with the username site2!site3!user.  This
fails.  If I send an address like user@foo.NETWORK to site1, and
assuming IT understands that it needs to relay to site2 (a big
assumption, but nevermind), then site2 gets an address like
user@foo.NETWORK, and dies.  What is "smail" supposed to generate, if I
give it an address like user@foo.NETWORK if we are not on that
network?  Would site3!user@foo.NETWORK@site2.UUCP@site1.UUCP work?
Unlikely, or unreadable, at best.  What if MY site ONLY talks bang.
Will site!site3!user@foo.NETWORK@site2.UUCP work?  I doubt it!

Now, suppose that all of site1, site2, and site3 talk '@' addresses, but
site1 and site2 only know UUCP domain, and site3 is still the NETWORK gateway.
HOW do I send mail now?  Does site1 HAVE to understand .NETWORK?  I think
this is unreasonable, especially when I already KNOW how to get mail to
.NETWORK (I relay through site1, site2, and site3!).  Can I say:
user@foo.NETWORK@site3.UUCP@site2.UUCP@site1.UUCP?  Does this work?
It this really the approved way to send mail over non fully-connected
networks (i.e. where some path components MUST be specified)?

Maybe I'm just confused...