[comp.mail.uucp] British DNS

chris@vision.UUCP (Chris Davies) (07/11/90)

In article <n5-ge2.%c@smurf.sub.org> urlichs@smurf.sub.org (Matthias Urlichs) writes:
>< (and then there's what the British did to the DNS...)
>
>Well, if they _want_ the hassles they're presumably getting (I freely admit
>almost-total ignorance here) with having to parse their domain names from both
>directions, they're welcome to it. ;-)

Yup.  That's right.  What's more, the NRS (Name Registration Scheme) in the UK
decided that names need not be fully qualified, ie you can address email to
any of (eg) site.CO.UK, site.CO, site (!!) and the local s/w is supposed to
know what to append for you  :-(  Thus we would not be able to address email
to a top-level domain .AC or .CO...

Good isn't it!

Chris
-- 
VISIONWARE LTD         | UK: chris@vision.uucp     JANET: chris%vision.uucp@ukc
57 Cardigan Lane       | US: chris@vware.mn.org    OTHER: chris@vision.co.uk
LEEDS LS4 2LE          | BANGNET:  ...{backbone}!ukc!vision!chris
England                | VOICE:   +44 532 788858   FAX:   +44 532 304676
-------------- "VisionWare:   The home of DOS/UNIX/X integration" --------------

I.G.Batten@fulcrum.bt.co.uk (Ian G Batten) (07/12/90)

chris@vision.UUCP (Chris Davies) writes:
> ... the NRS (Name Registration Scheme) in the UK
> decided that names need not be fully qualified, ie you can address email to
> any of (eg) site.CO.UK, site.CO, site (!!) and the local s/w is supposed to
> know what to append for you  :-(  Thus we would not be able to address email
> to a top-level domain .AC or .CO...

No, Grey Book says that the ``JNT Header'' --- the transport recipient
that forms the first block of the Blue Book transfer --- is fully
qualified.  It'll normally work if it isn't, be if it doesn't there's
little recourse.

The wildcarding you suggest I always rationalised by the fact that you
should add parts of your OWN address to the recipient.  I should first
try to add fulcrum.bt.co.uk (so I can mail user@balti, user@masalla),
then bt.co.uk (so I can mail user@axion, user@planet).  I don't try to
add co.uk or uk, becaise I don't hold tables that complete.  This
strikes me as reasonable.

Since the completion is only affixed if I have EVIDENCE that the
resulting compound exists, if I typed ``user@foo.co'' it would be
forwarded as is to my relay.  I only do domain expansion if I know the
compound is valid.

ian