RE: recent spam to this list

["Julian Mehnle" <lists@mehnle.net>]

Andreas Metzler wrote:
> Julian Mehnle <lists@mehnle.net> wrote:
> > Andreas Metzler wrote:
> > > If I send an e-mail over mail.nusrf.at with envelope-from
> > > ametzler@logic.univie.ac.at I am _not_ forging anything or making
> > > "unauthorized use of domains"
> > 
> > Yes, you are.  The envelope-from address is not a reply-to address,
> > it's a sender address.  If you are sending from mail.nusrf.at, you
> > are not sending from logic.univie.ac.at.  So you should not specify
> > <ametzler@logic.univie.ac.at> as the envelope-from address, or you'd
> > be forging it.
> 
> No, I am just specifying where I want bounces to go to.
> 
>       MAIL FROM:<reverse-path> [SP <mail-parameters> ] <CRLF>
> 
>    This command tells the SMTP-receiver that a new mail transaction is
>    starting and to reset all its state tables and buffers, including any
>    recipients or mail data.  The <reverse-path> portion of the first or
>    only argument contains the source mailbox (between "<" and ">"
>    brackets), which can be used to report errors.

There you have it.  It's the "source mailbox", and while it can be used to report errors, it can *not only* be used to report errors.  I'm relieved that the RFC doesn't contradict my common sense understanding of a "sender address".