Alpern@IBM.COM (David Alpern) (02/17/88)
BITNET has been moving towards use of BSMTP, a batch form of SMTP which does carry the RFC821 envelope. The concept of Errors-To:, though, does make sense for those portions of BITNET or other networks where RFC821-like envelopes don't exist -- but it need not leave those portions to be useful. As gateways must already either get or put information into the RFC822 header, as mail leaves an RFC821 world an Errors-To line can be added (replacing any already present) to convey the current RFC821 MAIL FROM information, and upon entering an RFC821 world the Errors-To information can be removed from the header and put into the MAIL FROM. I know some out there will flame at me for suggesting that people who are on networks which "do it wrong," i.e., do not have an envelope separate from the header, should do anything to improve their situation other than add an envelope. But the same stubbornness amongst mailer-maintainers exists everywhere (I'm guilty of this too!), and a small amount (more) header munging at a gateway is frequently easier to convince someone to do than is a change to a different transport protocol. So, may I propose that no one ask Mark or others on networks which do have envelopes to change their mailers, but rather that Errors-To be looked at as an alternative means to carry the necessary information within, but only within, those portions of the networked world which do not use envelopes. - Dave p.s. I too remember this coming up many times in the past. The fact that it does keep coming up to me indicates that just saying "switch to using envelopes and the problems will go away" just doesn't solve the real-world problems involved. - These opionions are purely my own, and as usual I won't change them until after I hit 'send' :-).