Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Sun, 07 Sep 1997 20:34:19 -0400
From:      Drew Derbyshire <ahd@kew.com>
To:        "Jonathan M. Bresler" <jmb@FreeBSD.ORG>
Cc:        hackers@hub.freebsd.org, support@kew.com
Subject:   Re: spam and the FreeBSD mailing lists
Message-ID:  <3413480B.BADF1376@kew.com>
References:  <199709072335.QAA17881@hub.freebsd.org>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Jonathan M. Bresler wrote:
> Drew Derbyshire wrote:
> > The TCP/IP protocol implicitly requires public IP address to be properly
> > registered to be routed (otherwise, you don't get your ACK's back!),
> 
>         please remember to distinguish between "mail from:" addresses
>         and relays.  

The relay name (host name of the SMTP client) need not be resolvable in
DNS, I didn't mean to imply it did.  I mean the actual IP addresss had
to be routable. Someone else was confused by my wording as well.

>         if the "don't get your ACK's back" they cant establish the TCP
>         session in order to transfer the mail in the first place.

Correct, which goes back to my original statement that the network
routing must be registered -- not with DNS, but with the backbone
routers.

> there is *not* reasone that i know of that a
>         "mail from:" address must be resolvable.

Yes, there is.    The address in the SMTP "MAIL FROM" line is used for
bounce messages by sendmail.  Consider if you send mail via a
third-party relay (such as a back-up MX forwarder, something both
kew.com and freebsd.org have) and mail lands on the backup MX forwarder
because the primary is down.   When the intermediate relay connects to
the ultimate destination, if the user id on the final is bad then the
intermediate relay's bounce message will be sent to the "MAIL FROM"
address.  Thus, the bounce message is lost if the "MAIL FROM" address is
bad.

-ahd-
-- 
Internet:       ahd@kew.com             Voice:          617-279-9812

"MS-DOS didn't get as bad as it is overnight -- it took over ten years
 of careful development."               - dmeggins@aix1.uottawa.ca



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?3413480B.BADF1376>