wisner@killer.DALLAS.TX.US (Bill Wisner) (08/10/88)
I performed my own test today. My mail leaves this site with the following From line: From: Bill Wisner <wisner@killer.dallas.tx.us> My first step was to find a neighbor that left my From line untouched. I addressed a message to mit-eddie!killer!wisner and it came back with the same From line it started with. OK. Good enough. I then sent mail to texsun!sun!eddie.mit.edu!killer!wisner. This path does leave two sites as possible culprits, but it's all the same company. This message arrived looking like this: From: Bill Wisner <texsun!wisner%killer.dallas.tx.us@Sun.COM> Revolting. Any self-respecting mailer will think that my account is on texsun. killer.dallas.tx.us is completely valid and has MX records (but no A record). It seems that Sun's idea of a 'valid host' is one that it can find an address for. By sending my mail through Sun I pretty much destroy any chance that I might get replies. While we're on the subject of revolting mailer behavior, might I add that texsun appends a CR to every line of every message it passes through? I think I'm going to go add "-d sun" now.