Re: Header stripping

["Arlen P. Walker" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM>]

      >Some of us have mail systems that strip out all the addressing
      >information before delivering mail to our mailboxes

      I've seen this complaint many times. Is this common? Why do these systems
      behave that way? Why do users put up with them?

In order:

1) It seems more common than I'd first imagined. BTW, it's not always the mail
system. Sometimes it's the gateway that removes them. (Remember, SMTP is a
minority protocol among general -- as opposed to internet -- E-Mail users.)

2) Because they're trying to be hepful. Some users with systems which preserve
the headers complain about all the trash they have to wade through before they
get to the message. It seems related to whether the user's first encounter with
E-Mail has been over internet/unix or other (internal corporate, internal
service provider -- CI$, AOL, etc.) medium.

3) Users don't always have a choice. System Admins set up mail systems for
companies, and I don't know of a company that runs democratically. You have to
use the tools you're given, or move on. I haven't seen a mail system yet that's
worth quitting to avoid (or get).


Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 24

Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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