Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bbn!gatech!utkcs2!moore From: moore@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu (Keith Moore) Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp Subject: Re: Why use a domain? Summary: because it bridges a compatability gap Message-ID: <583@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu> Date: 6 Oct 88 18:59:42 GMT References: <137@microsoft.UUCP> <5673@zodiac.UUCP> Reply-To: moore@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu (Keith Moore) Organization: CS Dept - U of TN, Knoxville Lines: 24 In article lear@NET.BIO.NET (Eliot Lear) writes: >There are essentially three benefits of using real domains over .UUCP: > >1] Beyond the name, you gain some additional piece of information. [...] >2] It increases the name space. There can only be one foo.UUCP, but > there can be a foo.rutgers.edu and a foo.berkeley.edu, etc. > >3] Most importantly, it is accepted that domain names are absolute, > unlike UUCP, where some circles still argue the point. You are forgetting perhaps the most important advantages of using domain names. If you establish a domain name for your system, many more systems will be able to send mail to your system. This is because domain names are more likely than routing paths to survive translation from the address format of one mail system to another. Furthermore, if your system has a domain name, very few machines need to know any explicit routing information for your machine. Finally, domain names are our best shot at reconciling the differences between the many addressing schemes of the various mail systems in use. -- Keith Moore UT Computer Science Dept. Internet/CSnet: moore@utkcs2.cs.utk.edu 107 Ayres Hall, UT Campus BITNET: moore@utkcs1 Knoxville Tennessee 37996-1301 Telephone: +1 615 974 0822