Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!iuvax!inuxc!att!alberta!ncc!lyndon
From: lyndon@ncc.Nexus.CA (Lyndon Nerenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Whatever happened to "Elm - the MAILER" ??
Summary: no No NO *NO* NNNOOO!!!!!
Message-ID: <10305@ncc.Nexus.CA>
Date: 2 Jul 88 18:23:57 GMT
References: <470@altnet.ALTOS.COM> <278@clout.Jhereg.MN.ORG> <485@altnet.ALTOS.COM> <10291@ncc.Nexus.CA> <1060@datapg.DataPg.MN.ORG> <520@a <23@n0atp.UUCP>
Reply-To: libPW.a[crypt.o]
Organization: Nexus Computing Inc.
Lines: 35

In article <23@n0atp.UUCP> barry@n0atp.UUCP (Barry S. Berg) writes:
>   What I propose is to put a dummy local routine in.  IBM calls this a
>   user exit on their mainframe software. The local definiation would
>   overide the external definition, not a lot of code would be generated,
>   and the system would allow the use of crypt(1) or a PD crypt if desired.
>   The following would be a code sample.

I don't usually get upset about things like this (ask Phil :-), but

NO DAMNIT!!!!

Doing this just brings us back to the situation where site admin A
uses crypt version X, and site admin B uses crypt version Z. User@A
is still bitching because his encrypted mail worked *too* *good*
when it got to Recipient@B because noone at B can decipher the damn
thing!

[ You could argue that each user could compile their own copy of elm
  with their own version of crypt. I would reply that this would just
  make the problem n factorial rather than n squared... ]

Elm is a tool that helps the user interface with the mail
transport system. It is *not* a replacement for crypt, banner,
nroff, compress, uuencode, awk, or any of the other standalone
commands for manipulating text or data. If you want to do
things with your data prior to sending it, fine. Other people
have already addressed developing those tools. Elm's sole purpose
is to allow the user to send that data to someone else quickly
and easily, and let them receive and manage incoming information
in a similar manner. Any enhancements made should promote those
goals. I think everyone could take a lesson in what a mailer
should strive to be by examining MH.

-- 
{alberta,pyramid,uunet}!ncc!lyndon  lyndon@Nexus.CA