[net.unix-wizards] Weird >From lines in mail and news

Meyer@PARC-MAXC@sri-unix (06/06/82)

Date: 24 May 1982 16:08 PDT
Mail does not store an index into mail files, but reparses them each time it starts
up.  It does this by looking up "From" lines.  If it were to interpret a From line
which was inserted because of a forwarded message, say, as a valid mail header,
it would split the message apart.  Therefore the mailer puts a ">" character before
lines which start with "From" so they won't look like valid message beginnings.
			Marc Meyer