Re: smail doesn't like trailing dot
david@sw.ods.com (David Engel) wrote on 07.03.97 in <[🔎] 19970307224927.12171@sw.ods.com>:
> For reasons that I still don't understand, our sysadmin has decided to
> change some our aliases to include a trailing dot in the host name.
Include a trailing dot where? Context is very important here. Some places
that take such names like trailing dots (some even need them), some don't.
> In the case of my list, the alias on ods.com is now
> "list@elo.sw.ods.com.". This has broken the list as smail doesn't
> like the trailing dot when the host name is the local host. This
Actually, smail shouldn't allow trailing dots in any message leaving it.
Ever.
It's a syntax error. See RFC 1123, section 5.2.18 (or just search for
"trailing").
(What it accepts as input is a completely separate question.)
> is shown by the following test:
>
> elo$ /usr/sbin/smail -bv list@elo.sw.ods.com.
> list@elo.sw.ods.com. ... not deliverable: router inet_hosts: MX record for
> elo.sw.ods.com points to local host
Does it answer the same if you leave off the dot? That's what I'd expect:
your smail simply doesn't know that it's supposed to handle mail to
elo.sw.ods.com, too.
This is what other mailers call "local configuration error", or even "I
refuse to talk to myself".
"My config says to send this mail out, but DNS says to keep it. HELP!"
On the other hand, if there's really a different answer with and without
the dot, then the real error message ought to be "syntax error in input:
trailing dots are not allowed in email addresses". Which is true. See
above.
MfG Kai
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