Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ATHENA.MIT.EDU!mar
From: mar@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Seeking advice on establishing a LARGE centralized mail system
Message-ID: <8905011728.AA11398@TOTO.MIT.EDU>
Date: 1 May 89 17:28:20 GMT
References: <45423@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 32

We've been thinking of tackling this problem here at MIT.  Our initial
planning is as follows:

*  The full name of every member of the MIT community will be known to
   the mail hub.  Mail sent to someone's full name will result in:
	1) The mail is delivered if the name is unique and the person
	   has a mailbox 
	2) An error response is generated saying "[full name] does not
	   have an electronic mail address, please send mail to MIT
	   Room ..., Cambridge MA 02139"
	3) An error response is generated saying "[full name] is
	   ambiguous, please choose one:" followed by a list of people
	   giving the name, title, address, and a unique email
	   identifier.
	4) An error response saying "addressee unknown".
*  Every member of the MIT community will be given a unique
   identifier for email purposes.  For most active email users, this
   will be their login name.  For other people and those with name
   conflicts, it will be their initials and a number, similar to the
   NIC's whois database.

This information will be kept up-to-date by Moira, the Athena Service
Management System, and regularly updated on the mailhub.  Users will be
allowed to update some of their own information, and to become
unlisted if they want to.

Moira currently contains all of the necessary information for the
students here at MIT, only the staff and remaining faculty must be
added.  The primary development effort will be modifications to the
mail hub.
				-Mark Rosenstein
				MIT Project Athena Systems Development