clive@druhi.UUCP (02/21/87)
Really. Isn't this the usual acolytes circling like moths around the flame of the eternal Operating System (and utilities-that-come-attached-to-it)? It's very simple. Of course there could be an 'unmail' command. It would work (in the user's view) like 'cancel' does in netnews. Go out and remove the most recent mailing (if any) from the unmailer, in the receiver's /usr/mail spoolfile. A good implementation would send the removal back, so the unmailer could be sure he got the right one. This seems stupendously easy. All of us, yes, even the initiated, could use it at times. I cross-posted this to wizards, so we can be sure to hear whether there's something inherantly unsanitary about this. Maybe, someone who can put it in distributions, will be interested in providing the feature.... Free Fame. And you get to be the one to decide if it's just an option on the mail command line, like -r.... Your very own user interface.
chris@mimsy.UUCP (02/23/87)
In article <1690@druhi.UUCP> clive@druhi.UUCP (Clive Steward) writes: >Of course there could be an 'unmail' command. Certainly. >It would work (in the user's view) like 'cancel' does in netnews. Indubitably. >This seems stupendously easy. Not so---unless, like Usenet, just about anyone, anywhere, could cancel your mail. Making sent mail secure, even across something like the ARPAnet, where physical security is inforced by DARPA, is quite difficult. (It is not now entirely secure: All one can truly tell is that mail `from user@site.edu' came from `site.edu', unless marked otherwise. Not all implementations provide even this much security.) Making revoked mail reasonably secure is even worse. But not impossible. -- In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7690) UUCP: seismo!mimsy!chris ARPA/CSNet: chris@mimsy.umd.edu