[news.sysadmin] Help on getting news and internet access

rickert@mp.cs.niu.edu (Neil Rickert) (11/16/90)

In article <2019.27425883@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com> herrickd@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com writes:
>In article <1990Nov13.210155.29694@uu.psi.com>, schoff@uu.psi.com (Martin Schoffstall) writes:
>> Kevin,
>> 
>> News/InternetMail access is available through UUPSI with local
>>(...)
>> dialups available in most major cities in NY (Rochester, Syracuse,
>> NYC, WhitePlains, Albany, etc...) and lot of other US cities
>> (Chicago, DC, LA, etc..)  For immediate on-line information
>> you can contact
>> 
>> 	uupsi-info@psi.com
>
>I get
>  Fatal reply code to command 
>          'RCPT TO:<psi.com!uupsi-info%uunet.uucp@abvax.icd.ab.com>':
>  554 <psi.com!uupsi-info%uunet.uucp@abvax.icd.ab.com>... 
>           Host psi . com unknown in this domain

 This may have something to do with the ambiguous address you used.  According
to some interpretations of RFC1123, this address should mean:
  abvax.icd.ab.com -> uunet.uucp -> psi.com -> uupsi-info
This, presumably, was the interpretation you intended.  But, according to
other interpretations of RFC1123, and particularly the interpretations used
by most unix based software, the address should mean
  abvax.icd.ab.com -> psi.com -> uunet.uucp -> uupsi-info

 Because of the confusion that now exists, the only safe course is to NEVER
mix '%' and '!' in the same address.  Presumably, since abvax.icd.ab.com
seems to be a UUCP host, it is probably not bound by the internet rules
that RFC1123 is trying to propound (whatever they may be).  In any case
abvax.icd.ab.com is removing its own address, then what is left looks like
a UUCP address (no @), so it happily uses the long term UUCP practice of
interpreting '!' to indicate the first path in a mixed !/% address, a
practice which predates RFC1123.

-- 
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  Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science               <rickert@cs.niu.edu>
  Northern Illinois Univ.
  DeKalb, IL 60115.                                  +1-815-753-6940