Re: More POP madness

[Christopher K Davis <ckd@ckdhr.com>]

Stainless Steel Rat <ratinox@peorth.gweep.net> writes:

> I am saying that a POP server that strips *ANYTHING* from a message is
> broken.  POP is *NOT* allowed to strip anything from a message.

A *message* does not include the delimeter.

> What is on the POP server is exactly what should appear on the POP
> client.  Once properly downloaded, the message may be massaged into
> something the MUA groks.

And if the POP server uses an out-of-band delimeter in its spool storage 
(maildir, database, index file with byte counts)--then what?

> In other words, there is no good reason for pop3-movemail or fetchmail
> to generate artificial SMTP envelopes.

Of course not, they're not doing SMTP (well, I suppose fetchmail is when 
it's injecting mail into the local mail system, but I don't think that's 
what you mean).

You're confusing an SMTP envelope ("MAIL From:<foo@example.com>") with
an mbox delimeter ("From foo@example.com date").  The fact that for
hysterical raisins having to do with UUCP envelopes ("From joe date
remote from uuhost") the SMTP envelope sender information gets reflected 
in the mbox delimiter is irrelevant.

After all, in an MMDF-delimeter world, the sender information isn't in
the delimeter.  According to RFC 821, the Return-Path: header is the
place to preserve the SMTP sender envelope information.

> The whole process should not be required except for the fact that some
> POP servers do the RFC 822 thing while ignoring the mail handling
> ubercommandment, 'thou shalt not remove anything from a message in
> transit.'

The message, when it arrived via SMTP, *HAD NO DELIMITER*.  *If* one
got added as part of the spool format on the POP server host (again,
depending on the spool format delimiters may not be necessary) then it
should not (according to the specs) be sent to the POP client as if it
were part of the message.

-- 
Christopher Davis * <ckd-sig@ckdhr.com> * <URL:http://www.ckdhr.com/ckd/>
Put location information in your DNS! <URL:http://www.ckdhr.com/dns-loc/>