Errors-to: epmdf@YMIR.BITNET
Organization: Cambridge Computer Associates, Inc.
X-Envelope-to: PMDF-L@IRLEARN.BITNET
X-VMS-To: IN%"info-pmdf@innosoft.com"
X-VMS-Cc: IN%"postmaster@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil",TINKELMAN
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT
Date:         Fri, 9 Oct 92 23:38:34 GMT
Comments:     Warning -- original Sender: tag was TINKELMAN@EISNER.DECUS.ORG
From:         Bob Tinkelman <bob@CAMB.COM>
Subject:      Handling broken From:-addrs with PMDF-MR
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.pmdf-l

It appears that the way I have configured PMDF-MR it bounces messages which
arrive from the Internet with invalid From:-headers (at least those ones
with syntax errors, given the attached example).  Is this something that's
hardwired into PMDF-MR, or is it something that I control with
configuration options?  [I didn't attach my to_mr.txt file, but could send
it to you if it turns out I broke something there.]

I can see a number of possible courses of action when msgs are received with
invalid From-addrs:

1. Bounce the message.  [I guess this sounds like the safest, but it seems
   violate the ``be liberal in what you accept'' philosophy.]
2. Pass the message, mapping the From:-addr to something that will reverse
   map back (when a REPLY is done) to the same (invalid) address.
3. Pass the message, translating the From:-addr into one that is
   syntactically correct, but (admittedly) has little chance of being
   a symantic equivalent, with a warning msg (of course) that this has
   happened.  [This seems like a very bad idea to me.]
4. Send the message on as an `enclosure' in a msg from the postmaster,
   with a note of what the problem was.  [This is what I'd do manually
   today, if I had the time...]

If I had all the above choices available, I think I'd choose 2.
---
Bob Tinkelman <bob@camb.com>









From:   IN%"postmaster@decus.org"  "PMDF Mail Server"  5-OCT-1992 16:48:04.09
To:     IN%"<AVLAB::MRGATE::'AM::westms'%avlab.dnet@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil>"
CC:
Subj:   Undeliverable mail: MR gateway failure

Return-path: <postmaster@decus.org>
Received: from DECUS.ORG (Topaz.DECUS.ORG) by camb.com (PMDF #2344 ) id
 <01GPLHICQSPC90N39A@camb.com>; Mon, 5 Oct 1992 16:46:47 EDT
Received: from mr.decus.org by DECUS.Org (PMDF #2354 ) id
 <01GPLH8D64XI90ORWK@DECUS.Org>; Mon, 5 Oct 1992 16:38:08 EDT
Date: 05 Oct 1992 16:38:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: PMDF Mail Server <postmaster@decus.org>
Subject: Undeliverable mail: MR gateway failure
To: <AVLAB::MRGATE::"AM::westms"%avlab.dnet@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil>
Message-id: <01GPLH8D64XK90ORWK@DECUS.Org>
Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

These addresses were rejected:

[... manually wrapped.  (It'd be nice if PMDF did this for me.) ...]

WESTS@a1.decus.org: cannot convert originator address:
        <AVLAB::MRGATE::"AM::westms"%avlab.dnet@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil>
        - mandatory USERID field was not produced

----------------------------------------

Received: from aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil by DECUS.Org (PMDF #2354 ) id
 <01GPLGJP777490P9BK@DECUS.Org>; Mon, 5 Oct 1992 16:18:25 EDT
Received: from AVLAB.DECnet MAIL11D_V3 by aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil
 (5.57/Ultrix3.0-C) id AA08771; Mon, 5 Oct 92 16:19:00 -0400
Date: 05 Oct 1992 16:18:58 -0400
From: AVLAB::MRGATE::"AM::westms"%avlab.dnet@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil
Subject: [... original msg text deleted ...]
To: "WESTS@a1.decus.org"%AAUNIX.dnet@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil,
 "hance@decus.org"%AAUNIX.dnet@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil
Message-id: <9210052019.AA08771@aaunix.aa.wpafb.af.mil>
Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT

[... original msg text deleted ...]
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU