W8SDZ@SIMTEL20.ARPA.UUCP (08/18/86)
I don't condone the reaction of John Gilmore. What I do wonder, though, is why DoD hasn't ORDERED that this failed mail situation be fixed because of the vast amount of net resources used in sending advisory and failed notices. It sometimes takes so much of the resources here at Simtel20 as to stop all network terminal output for 30-45 seconds at a time during the period when the mailer is sending those. --Keith
fair%lll-tis-b.ARPA@LLL-TIS-GW.ARPA (Erik E. Fair) (08/22/86)
Three comments: 1. Internet mailing lists should make arrangements for the error messages to be directed at the list maintainer, rather than at the hapless (and helpless) author of a random message. There are established methods for doing this; One example of a list that does this properly is <tcp-ip@sri-nic.arpa>. For those of you on UNIX systems, I have some stuff that will accomplish this. 2. The behavior of the TOPS-20 mailer in sending "intermediate" error messages is reprehensible, and should be fixed. Neatly enough, if #1 is implemented universally, those of us not afflicted with that mailer should never get its intermediate error messages, whether it gets fixed or not. 3. Mark, you missed the point. Mail filters, while necessary tools that almost no one has, are not germane to this problem. See #1. Erik E. Fair styx!fair fair@lll-tis-b.arpa