Bug, or just odd RFC behaviour?

[Jonathan Angliss]

Hi All,

  I've noticed this a lot recently, but having worked with the SMTP
  RFC a bit, I don't remember if it is part of required behaviour, or
  if it is just something that TB is doing.  If you start a new line
  with the word From, it'll make it appear as a reply, or if PGP
  signed, will put a - in front.  If you a replying to a message, and
  start a new line with a "From" then it'll put a > in front.
  Example:

>From a very silly example, this line will start off with a - or a >

  You'll never see it while in compose, nor will you see it in the
  sent items. But when you look at the mail you receive, it has the >
  appended to the line. A bug? Or required RFC behavior? I can
  understand it being partially expected behavior as some unix mail
  box storages use the From as a separator... ie:

  From 
  

  From 
  

  But SMTP doesn't concern mail storage, and From isn't an RFC
  command.

-- 
Jonathan Angliss
([EMAIL PROTECTED])



Current version is 1.62 | "Using TBUDL" information:
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Re: Bug, or just odd RFC behaviour?

[Roelof Otten]

Hallo Jonathan,

On Wed, 1 Jan 2003 16:09:31 -0600GMT (1-1-03, 23:16 +0100GMT, where I
live), you wrote:

JA>   I've noticed this a lot recently, but having worked with the SMTP
JA>   RFC a bit, I don't remember if it is part of required behaviour, or
JA>   if it is just something that TB is doing.  If you start a new line
JA>   with the word From, it'll make it appear as a reply, or if PGP
JA>   signed, will put a - in front.  If you a replying to a message, and
JA>   start a new line with a "From" then it'll put a > in front.

I think it would be a server related item. I started a message to
myself (via my local server) with this text:

  Even iets uitproberen.
From: roelof to test

I didn't receive it with a > in front, neither with a dash. Not when I
started a new message, nor when I replied.

Not even when I tried it with your sample text.

These kind of things have been mentioned before on this list and every
time we could pinpoint an ISP.


-- 
Groetjes, Roelof



Current version is 1.62 | "Using TBUDL" information:
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Re: Bug, or just odd RFC behaviour?

[Jonathan Angliss]

-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-
Hash: SHA1

On Wednesday, January 01, 2003, Roelof Otten wrote...

JA>> If you start a new line with the word From, it'll make it appear
JA>> as a reply, or if PGP signed, will put a - in front. If you a
JA>> replying to a message, and start a new line with a "From" then
JA>> it'll put a > in front.

> I think it would be a server related item. I started a message to
> myself (via my local server) with this text:

>   Even iets uitproberen.
> From: roelof to test

Not sure if the : would affect it or not, as that is considered a
header line, while just "From " is a separator in some mail box
storages.

> These kind of things have been mentioned before on this list and every
> time we could pinpoint an ISP.

I just tested a different mail server, and I think I agree now. I
thought it was something TB might have been doing. What it appears to
be is mail servers that store mail in an mbox style file escape the
"From " with a >. I just tested on another mail server that stores
mail in Maildir format, and it doesn't do it.

- --
Jonathan Angliss
([EMAIL PROTECTED])

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Current version is 1.62 | "Using TBUDL" information:
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Re: Bug, or just odd RFC behaviour?

[Dave Crocker]

Jonathan,

Wednesday, January 1, 2003, 2:16:35 PM, you wrote:
Jonathan> Hi All,

Jonathan>   I've noticed this a lot recently, but having worked with the SMTP
Jonathan>   RFC a bit, I don't remember if it is part of required behaviour, or
Jonathan>   if it is just something that TB is doing.  If you start a new line
Jonathan>   with the word From, it'll make it appear as a reply,

The right angle-bracket is inserted at the beginning of a line that starts
with From by Sendmail.  It does this in order to ensure that email with line
starting with From are not confused with the start-of-message line that
Sendmail uses for internal storage.

The fact that this behavior is visible in mail being relayed through SMTP is
a bug in Sendmail.

d/
-- 
 Dave 
 Brandenburg InternetWorking 
 t +1.408.246.8253; f +1.408.850.1850



Current version is 1.62 | "Using TBUDL" information:
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