[comp.mail.elm] ELM's filter program cannot handle sendmail's queued messages

acbhour@accucx.cc.ruu.nl (Rudi van Houten) (10/19/90)

If a message is queued by sendmail, as is all incoming UUCP mail handled
by /bin/rmail, the recipient's address is evaluated from the user's .forward.
When sendmail then executes the filter-program in the queue run the program
is not run with the correct uid (since sendmail doesn't know that) and
filter is unable to find the ~/.elm/filter-rules. Result: the message is
noiseless placed in daemon's mailbox.
I see two solutions to fix the problem:
1.simply add a obligate parameter to filter, being the concerning username.
  This is very simple to implement, but it changes the user's doc.
2.teach sendmail not to evaluate the .forward-file if it expands to a
  prog-mailer (starts with the pipe-symbol).

Has someone a better idea?

dave@convex.csd.uwm.edu (David A Rasmussen) (10/20/90)

From article <872@accucx.cc.ruu.nl>, by acbhour@accucx.cc.ruu.nl (Rudi van Houten):
> I see two solutions to fix the problem:
> 1.simply add a obligate parameter to filter, being the concerning username.
>   This is very simple to implement, but it changes the user's doc.
We do this at our site.

> 2.teach sendmail not to evaluate the .forward-file if it expands to a
>   prog-mailer (starts with the pipe-symbol).
> 

> Has someone a better idea?

I am interested in ideas from other sites with this problem.