The Online World Part 14

If your system absolutely refuses to accept exclamation points in addresses, try to turn the address into a typical Internet address.

Write the address elements in the Internet sequence (left to right). Replace the exclamation points with %-s, like this:

[email protected]

This method works most of the time. When it works, use this addressing form. Bang paths may fail if an intermediate site in the path happens to be down. (There is a trend for UUCP sites to register Internet domain names. This helps alleviate the problem of path failures.) Some messages must be routed through many gateways to reach their destination. This is the longest address that I have used, and it did work:

[email protected]

It used to be the Internet address of a user in Colorado, U.S.A..

Today, he can be reached using a much shorter address.

If you are on UUCP/EUnet, you may use the following address to send email to Odd de Presno:

extern.uio.no!opresno.

Addressing international electronic mail sometimes looks like black magic. To learn more, read some of the books listed in appendix 5.

We have found "The Matrix" by John S. Quarterman to be particularly useful.

The conference INFONETS (General network forum) is another source. Here, the INTERNET postmasters discuss their addressing problems. Activity is high, and you will learn a lot about the n.o.ble art of addressing. (This is not the place to ask for Olav Janssen's Norwegian email address, though. This question should be sent to a Norwegian postmaster.) You can subscribe to Infonets by sending the following mail:

To: [email protected] Subject: (You can write anything here. It will be ignored.) TEXT: SUB INFONETS Your-first-name Your-last-name

If your mailbox is on another network, alter the address to route your subscription correctly to this LISTSERV.

| Hint: You can search the database of old INFONETS messages by | | email to [email protected] See "Directories of services | | and subscribers" below for information about how to search | | LISTSERV databases. |

While the global matrix of networks grows rapidly, it is still behind in some lesser-developed nations and poorer parts of developed nations. If interested in these parts of the world, check out GNET, a library and a journal for doc.u.ments about the efforts to bring the net to lesser-developed nations.

Archived doc.u.ments are available by anonymous ftp from the directory global_net at dhvx20.csudh.edu (155.135.1.1). Chapter 12 has information on how to use FTP if you only have mail access to the Internet.

To subscribe to a conference discussing these doc.u.ments, send a request to [email protected]

cc:Mail gateways ---------------- Many Local Area Networks have been connected to the global Matrix of networks. CompuServe offers a cc:Mail gateway. Lotus cc:Mail is a PC Lan based email system used in corporate, government and other organizations.

When sending from CompuServe Mail to a cc:Mail user through this gateway, a typical address may look like this:

>mhs:[email protected]

To send to this user from the Internet through CompuServe's MHS gateway, write the address like this:

[email protected]

Other vendors of LAN gateways use other addressing methods.

X.400 addressing ---------------- X.400 is a standard for electronic mail developed by CCITT. It is used on large networks like AT&T Mail, MCI Mail, Sprintnet, GE Information System, Dialcom, and Western Union, and on other public and private networks throughout the world.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) uses X.400 as a transport mechanism for coordination of electronic part ordering, stock control and payment. X.400 is used to connect EDI systems between companies and suppliers.

The X.400 addressing syntax is very different from domain addressing. To send a message from an X.400 mailbox to my address ([email protected]), you may have to write it like this:

(C:NO,ADMD:uninett,PRMD:uninett,O:uio,OU:extern,S:opresno)

Alas, it's not so standard as the domain addressing schemes. On other X.400 networks, the address must be written in one of the following formats - or in yet other ways:

(C:US,A:Telemail,P:Internet,"RFC-822":)

("RFC-822": , SITE:INTERNET)

'(C:USA,A:TELEMAIL,P:INTERNET,"RFC-822":<>extern.uio.no>) DEL'(site: INTERNET,ID: extern.uio.no>) "RFC-822=opresno(a)extern.uio.no @ GATEWAY]INTERNET/TELEMAIL/US"To send an Internet message to a mailbox I once had on the X.400 host Telemax in Norway, I had to use the following address: [email protected]/* */ To send from Internet to Telemail in the US, I have used this address: [email protected]/* */com If you need to route your message through gateways, then complexity increases. One Norwegian UUCP user had to use the following address to get through: nuug!extern.uio.no!"pcmax.telemax.no!/I=D/G=ODD/S=PRESNO/O=KUD.DATASEKR/"To send a message from an X.400 system to my CompuServe mailbox, I have used the following address elements: Country = US ADMD = CompuServe PRMD = CSMail DDA = 75755.1327 The addressing methods used on X.400 systems vary. Another example: Some use the code C:USA rather than the ISO country code C:US. MCI Mail uses C:NORWAY, C:USA, and C:SWEDEN.Here are some important X.400 codes: C the ISO country code (on most services) ADMD domain code for public system (abbreviation A) PRMD domain code for connected private system (abbreviation P) O organization name OU organization unit S surname (last name) G given name (first name) I initials (in the name) DDA domain-defined attributes, keywords defined and used by the individual systems to specify mailboxes (user name, list, station, user code, etc.), direct delivery devices (attention name, telex addresses, facsimile, etc.) PN personal name (a) the character @ cannot be used when routing messages from X.400 to Internet. Try (a) instead.(p) the character % cannot be used when routing messages from X.400 to Internet. Try (p) instead.(b) the character ! (used in "bang" addresses).(q) the character " used in email addresses.RFC-822 this code tells X.400 that an Internet domain address follows. Does not work on all X.400 systems.Returned mail ------------- When an email address is incorrect in some way (the system's name is wrong, the domain doesn't exist, whatever), the mail system will bounce the message back to the sender.The returned message will include the reason for the bounce. A common error is addressing mail to an account name that doesn't exist.Let's make an error when sending to [email protected]/* */Enter "[email protected]/* */" instead of "[email protected]/* */".This address is wrong. Below, we've printed the complete bounced message. It contains a lot of technical information. Most lines have no interest. Also, the message is much larger than the original message, which contained three lines only.When browsing the bounced message, note that it has three distinct parts: (1) The mail header of the bounced message itself (here, the 13 first lines), (2) The text of the error report (from line 14 until the line "Original message follows:"), and (3) the mailer header and text of your original message (as received by computer reporting the error): From [email protected]/* */ Fri Dec 18 12:54:03 1992 Return-Path: Received: from vm1.NoDak.edu by pat.uio.no with SMTP (PP) id [email protected]/* */>; Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:53:54 +0100 Received: from NDSUVM1.BITNET by VM1.NoDak.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9295; Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:27 CST Received: from NDSUVM1.BITNET by NDSUVM1.BITNET (Mailer R2.07) with BSMTP id 3309; Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:26 CST Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:26 CST From: Network Mailer To: [email protected]/* */ Subject: mail delivery error Status: R Batch SMTP transaction log follows: 220 NDSUVM1.BITNET Columbia MAILER R2.07 BSMTP service ready.050 HELO NDSUVM1 250 NDSUVM1.BITNET h.e.l.lo NDSUVM1 050 MAIL FROM: 250 ... sender OK.050 RCPT TO: 250 ... recipient OK.050 DATA 354 Start mail input. End with . 554-Mail not delivered to some or all recipients: 554 No such local user: PISTSERV 050 QUIT 221 NDSUVM1.BITNET Columbia MAILER BSMTP service done.