Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!yale!husc6!ukma!david From: david@ms.uky.edu (David Herron -- One of the vertebrae) Newsgroups: comp.mail.headers Subject: Re: mixed addresses Message-ID: <10015@e.ms.uky.edu> Date: 20 Jul 88 19:34:36 GMT References: <8807142016.dusip.andrew@stl.stc.co.uk> <3503@palo-alto.DEC.COM> Reply-To: david@ms.uky.edu (David Herron -- One of the vertebrae) Organization: U of Kentucky, Mathematical Sciences Lines: 45 Paul, neither rfc822 nor rfc976 specify that % does what the %-hack do. In fact, both specify other methods to do routing. That means, both specs expect the local-part to only be paid attention to by the 'local' machine, not by machines along the route. In: user%a@some.dom.ain and some!long!path!with!a%percent the local part *shouldn't* be evaluated until it reaches the destination. In the '@' case, until it reaches some.dom.ain, and the '!' case until it reaches 'with'. Whatever either of those places wishes to do with a local-part like "a%b" is up to them BECAUSE IT IS NOT SPECIFIED BY EITHER SPEC! Now, I didn't read your posting very closely and it's possible that you said exactly that in your posting. But I think I caught a few statements to the otherwise. Oh, I suppose the next question is what to do with some!long!path!a%b@some.dom.ain RFC976 is the applicable spec. (according to rfc822, the "some!long!path!a%b" is *all* local part and get's evaluated according to some.dom.ain's rules for evaluating such things). The rfc recommends first that mailers not use mixed adresses internally, instead preferring something like some.dom.ain!some!long!path!a%b or some!long!path!some.dom.ain!a%b but if you must, to treat such an address as in rfc822 -- the local part is the local part and isn't evaluated until it reaches some.dom.ain (i.e. the "some.dom.ain!some!long!path!a%b" interpretation -- effectively) It's right there in the specs in black&white (or purple&brown with the right toner/paper combination ...) -- <---- David Herron -- The E-Mail guy <---- ska: David le casse\*' {rutgers,uunet}!ukma!david, david@UKMA.BITNET <---- A misplaced Kansan trapped in the heart of Kentucky, <---- the state where it is now illegal to water your lawn on the wrong day.