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Annotated edit history of mailaddr(7) version 1, including all changes. View license author blame.
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1 perry 1 MAILADDR
2 !!!MAILADDR
3 NAME
4 DESCRIPTION
5 FILES
6 SEE ALSO
7 ----
8 !!NAME
9
10
11 mailaddr - mail addressing description
12 !!DESCRIPTION
13
14
15 This manual page gives a brief introduction to SMTP mail
16 addresses, as used on the Internet. These addresses are in
17 the general format
18
19
20 user@domain
21
22
23 where a domain is a hierarchical dot separated list of
24 subdomains. For example, the addresses
25
26
27 eric@monet.berkeley.edu
28 Eric Allman
29 eric@monet.berkeley.edu (Eric Allman)
30
31
32 are valid forms of the same address.
33
34
35 The domain part (``monet.berkeley.edu'') may be the name of
36 an internet host, or it may be a logical mail address. The
37 domain part is not case sensitive.
38
39
40 The local part (``eric'') is often a user name, but its
41 meaning is defined by the local software. It can be case
42 sensitive, but usually isn't. If you see a local-part that
43 looks like garbage, it is usually because of a gateway
44 between an internal e-mail system and the net, here are some
45 examples:
46
47
48
49
50 (These are, respectively, an X.400 gateway, a gateway to an
51 arbitrary inernal mail system that lacks proper internet
52 support, an UUCP gateway, and the last one is just boring
53 username policy.)
54
55
56 The real-name part (``Eric Allman'') can either be placed
57 first, outside
58
59
60
61
62 __Abbreviation.__
63
64
65 Many mail systems let users abbreviate the domain name. For
66 instance, users at berkeley.edu may get away with
67 ``eric@monet'' to send mail to Eric Allman. ''This behavior
68 is deprecated.''
69
70
71 __Route-addrs.__
72
73
74 Under some circumstances it may be necessary to route a
75 message through several hosts to get it to the final
76 destination. Normally this happens automatically and
77 invisibly, but sometimes not, particularly with old and
78 broken software. Addresses which show these relays are
79 termed ``route-addrs.'' These use the syntax:
80
81
82
83
84 This specifies that the message should be sent to hosta,
85 from there to hostb, and finally to hostc. Some hosts
86 disregard route-addrs and send directly to
87 hostc.
88
89
90 Route-addrs occur frequently on return addresses, since
91 these are generally augmented by the software at each host.
92 It is generally possible to ignore all but the
93 ``user@hostc'' part of the address to determine the actual
94 sender.
95
96
97 __Postmaster.__
98
99
100 Every site is required to have a user or user alias
101 designated ``postmaster'' to which problems with the mail
102 system may be addressed. The ``postmaster'' address is not
103 case sensitive.
104
105
106 __FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS__
107
108
109 rtfm.mit.edu and many mirrors store a collection of FAQs.
110 Please find and use a nearby FAQ archive; there are dozens
111 or hundreds around the world.
112 ''mail/inter-network-guide'' explains how to send mail
113 between many different networks. ''mail/country-codes''
114 lists the top level domains (e.g. ``no'' is Norway and
115 ``ea'' is Eritrea). ''mail/college-email/part*'' gives
116 some useful tips on how to locate e-mail
117 addresses.
118 !!FILES
119
120
121 ''/etc/aliases
122 ~/.forward''
123 !!SEE ALSO
124
125
126 binmail(1), mail(1), mconnect(1),
127 forward(5), aliases(5), sendmail(8),
128 vrfy(8), RFC822 (Standard for the Format of Arpa
129 Internet Text Messages).
130 ----
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