Re: smtpmail: MAIL FROM and `gnus-posting-styles'

[Micha Wiedenmann <mw-u1@gmx.de>]

* Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com> writes:
>Micha Wiedenmann <mw-u1@gmx.de> writes:
>> Bjørn Mork writes:
>>>Simon Josefsson <jas@extundo.com> writes:
>>>> Micha Wiedenmann <mw-u1@gmx.de> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> when sendig a mail composed with `gnus-posting-styles' smtpmail uses
>>>>> `user-mail-address' to determine "MAIL FROM:". Since
>>>>> `gnus-posting-styles' already inserted "From: foo" this is confusing and
>>>>> might be wrong. Is there a way to fix that behavior?
>>>>
>>>> Does it work to set user-mail-address in the posting style too?
>>
>> AFAICS it is not possible to set buffer-local variables from
>> `gnus-posting-styles' but I would need buffer-local
>> `user-mail-addresses' since I use several addresses.
>
>Ah.  Hm.  But can't you set the global variable?  If you always use
>posting styles, the global variable will have the right value.  If you
>don't always use posting, perhaps using a message-sent-hook that
>restores the global variable could work.
>
>> Even if this would be possible I don't think this would help since I use
>> `message-send-mail-function' value: `gnus-agent-send-mail'. If I am
>> unplugged mail is stored in nndraft:queue and buffer-local settings
>> would also lost, wouldn't they?
>
>I think posting styles are supposed to be applied even when the
>message is read from the nndraft:queue group, using the X-Draft-From:
>header.

I checked the following with Gnus v5.8.8 and a recent CVS Oort (and gnus-agent):

· Create a message. Make sure posting-styles applied.
· Change the From: into something differen
· Send the Message (unplugged -> queue)
· Go plugged and send the message
· my:send-message told me that the posing-styles were applied (even in
  5.8.8) 

The settup:

,----[ .gnus ]
| (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.cis.dfn.de"))
| 
| (setq gnus-posting-styles
|      '((".*"
| 	(name "Micha Wiedenmann")
| 	(address "mw-u1-dont-trust-posting-styles@gmx.de"))))
| 
| (setq gnus-plugged nil)
| (gnus-agentize)
`----

,----[ *scratch* ]
| (setq gnus-agent-send-mail-function 'my:send-message)
| (defun my:send-message ()
|   (message (user-mail-address)))
`----

So the problem is more precise: Wenn From is changed with respect to the
value gnus-posting-styles would applie the changed From doesn't have any
influence on MAIL FROM.

IMHO This is a serious problem for any user who don't think about such
side effects. This should either be documented (but where?) or changed.

>> I've two ideas:
>>
>> · Why does smtpmail use mail-envelope-from but don't try to determine
>>   mail-from from :-) the mail?
>
>Well, because the SMTP envelope header is different from the RFC822
>header.  Perhaps there could be a speciel smtpmail.el feature that
>used the From: address as SMTP envelope address?  This sounds trivial
>to implement and could perhaps be generally useful.  What do you
>think?

Yes this sounds really great.

>Hm.  Extending `mail-envelope-from' seems like the right thing.  What
>do you think of the following?  (The second :type alternative,
>`header', is new, the rest is unchanged.)
>
>(defcustom mail-envelope-from nil
>  "*If non-nil, designate the envelope-from address when sending mail.
>If this is nil while `mail-specify-envelope-from' is non-nil, the
>content of `user-mail-address' is used."
>  :version "21.1"
>  :type '(choice (string :tag "From-name")
>		 (const :tag "Use From: header from message" header)
>		 (const :tag "Use `user-mail-address'" nil))
>  :group 'sendmail)

I think this is a good solution for message-send-via-smtp! This is
simple, elegant and straightforward! (I often tend to see things to
difficult :-)

Thank you very much, Micha
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