Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!mcvax!cernvax!ethz!wyle From: wyle@ethz.UUCP (Mitchell Wyle) Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc Subject: X.400 ean mail system Message-ID: <186@bernina.UUCP> Date: Mon, 24-Aug-87 08:27:02 EDT Article-I.D.: bernina.186 Posted: Mon Aug 24 08:27:02 1987 Date-Received: Wed, 26-Aug-87 02:52:56 EDT Organization: ETH Zuerich, Switzerland Lines: 55 Keywords: ean, mail, x.400 Why I don't use ean Mitchell Wyle wyle@ethz.uucp The University of British Columbia's X.400 mail system "ean" is the electronic mail system of choice for the ETH computer science department. I have used the system for over a year; it is the system with which I am most experienced, but I have discovered some features in the system which have led me to the decision to change mail systems. Most major decisions of this nature are prompted by unfortunate accidents. Such is the case in this situation. Because ean uses a bizarre method of storing its data (db5), one must periodically "clean" the data files ean creates. Otherwise, they would continue to grow without bound, until the disk is full. One day, the "eanrebuild" command destroyed all of my ean data. Upon restoring the data from a backup tape, ean refused to read the restored data. A mail system which 1) needs a dangerous, periodic "clean-up" command, and 2) cannot read restored data is unacceptable. The data cannot be moved to tape and back to disk. No backup is possible; therefore ean is unacceptable. The eanrebuild command is simply a nuisance which does not belong in a computer system. One could live with such an inconvenience if backup were possible. Ean's user interface is as poor as most other electronic mail systems'. There is no way to specify rules and actions (it is not programmable). It has a flat storage method (one level of folders). It does not take advantage of a video screen terminal. It has no information retrieval system for mail messages. Ean cannot run on all unix systems. It is specific for the DEC vax. It's files cannot be used by other applications. Almost all ean messages I send arrive with an annoying "Parse error of original messages in Switzerland" error message, which leads me to assume that the lower layers of the system are as weak as the user interface and no-backup features. The public domain, University of California Berkeley's (UCB) Unix mail system is not much better, but at least there is no "rebuild" command, and the files are standard unix text files. One can use the Unix shell environment, the "mail-tool" interface on Suns, and the file directory tree to add structure to mail messages. UCB Unix mail is programmable and richer in commands. It is standard on many different machines, and identical on Suns and vaxen. Most importantly, the data are interchangeable, and can be backed up! Ean? No thank you. -- Mitchell F. Wyle | csnet or arpa: wyle%ifi.ethz.ch@relay.cs.net Instituet fuer Informatik | uucp: wyle@ethz.uucp ETH Zentrum / SOT | Telephone: 011 41 1 256 5237 8092 Zuerich, Switzerland