Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!pacbell!pbhyf!rob
From: rob@pbhyf.PacBell.COM (Rob Bernardo)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.elm
Subject: Re: Missing text when printing
Message-ID: <4723@pbhyf.PacBell.COM>
Date: 17 Feb 89 20:31:28 GMT
References: <447@ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM>
Reply-To: rob@pbhyf.PacBell.COM (Rob Bernardo)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Lines: 35

In article <447@ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM> tmoore@ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM (Tom.Moore@ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM) writes:
+
+We have run into an interesting problem with mail from cron and the Elm
+mail system.  Given that the following message from cron placed in 
+your mailbox:
+
++ From ciss.Dayton.NCR.COM!root Wed Feb 15 23:58 EST 1989
++ chmod: can't change dead.letter
++ /usr/lib/uucp/deadletter.sh: dead.letter: cannot create
++
++
++ *******************************************
++ Cron: The previous message is the standard output
++       and standard error of one of your cron commands.
+

AHA! This message does NOT conform to RFC822 standards and ELM presumes
it does. The 2nd and 3rd lines conform to RFC822 standards for header
lines by both their format and by their position in the message.

It has been noted by the ELM development group that mail/rmail, the 
standard Sys V mail transport agent, does not insert the standard null 
line between the header and the body of the message. This will 
"confuse" ELM **OR ANY OTHER MAILER** that adheres to the RFC822 
standards in expecting a null line between the header and the body. 

This problem will occur if someone composes mail directly with USG mail,
instead of using mailx, elm, etc. The cron demon uses mail unfortunately.

I think AT&T has done a terrible misservice by not adhering to RFC822.
-- 
Rob Bernardo, Pacific Bell UNIX/C Reusable Code Library
Email:     ...![backbone]!pacbell!pbhyf!rob   OR  rob@pbhyf.PacBell.COM
Office:    (415) 823-2417  Room 4E750A, San Ramon Valley Administrative Center
Residence: (415) 827-4301  R Bar JB, Concord, California