[Hidden-tech] strange email problem, Mac related

[Robert Heller]

At Tue, 3 Apr 2007 10:15:57 -0400 Frieda Reichsman <friedar at nsm.umass.edu> wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 3, 2007, at Apr 3, 8:06 AM, Robert Heller wrote:
> 
> >
> > What ISP is creating E-Mail addresses with spaces in them?  I thought
> > that was forbotten by RFC822?  The local part (before the '@') should
> > only contain alphnumbercs (letters, digits), and - and _ and . and
> > nothing else.
> >
> 
> Right-- should-- but doesn't. I appreciate how strange this is.
> 
> What I know at present is that this email address was created long  
> ago, and has been used without problems for many years, 10 or more  
> I'd guess. The email server address has my friend's business name in  
> it, so I assume it is something someone set up many years ago  
> specifically for the business (I don't know what that says about who  
> his ISP is, but I can ask him...)  He's well aware that it is a  
> strange thing to have a space in a username, but since everything has  
> worked for all this time on his many Win machines, there's not much  
> motivation to change it.

The reality is that a space in his E-Mail should not work at all on
*ANY* playform, especially the 100's of *Sendmail* daemons running on
100's of UNIX (and Linux) servers around the world.  And should not
have for for anytime in the last 30-40 years.  His *real* E-Mail
address cannot have a space in it. Period. Something is going on with how
things are setup on either his MS-Windows machines OR with how things
are setup with his ISP -- most likely his ISP is doing something
strange and wonderfull somehow and somehow is setup to communicate the
'strangeness and wonderfullness' on to his MS-Windows E-Mail clients. 
Otherwise, he just does not have a legitimate (syntacticly correct)
E-Mail address as far as the rest of the world is concerened. I am
wondering: how is it even working at all -- it just should not be.

It is entirely possible to have a *private* system which can violate
any RFC rules it likes, but where it connects to the *public* Internet,
something needs to convert things to fit the rules.  Some E-Mail
clients (and probably servers -- procmail can be setup to do this
easily enough) can be configured to do a sort of split/merge game for a
family (or business) E-Mail address:  one *real* (RFC822 legal) E-Mail
address for the whole family/business, which get split amounst several
E-Mail readers/writers (humans), based on the 'comment' part of an
E-Mail address:

Joe Smith <smiths at familynet.com>
Jane Smith <smiths at familynet.com>
Sally Smith <smiths at familynet.com>
Little Joe Smith <smiths at familynet.com>

Note: that all of the above have the *same* e-mail address
(<smiths at familynet.com>), just with a different name part (ignored by
the likes of sendmail).  The E-Mail client (or front-end, possibly on
the server for familynet.com), splits incoming mail to four E-Mail
inboxes, one for each of the members of the Smith family.  This might
be what is going on (or some variation) with your client at some level
-- either in his MS-Windows E-Mail client(s) or on his ISP's server
(more likely).

> 
> He is interested in Macs and has bought a MacBook to explore. This is
> not someone who is or will be necessarily switching to Mac.   
> Particularly if email that Win is handling cannot be handled by the   
> Mac machine. 
>  
> I'm not being at all critical of Mac - I'm a devoted fan and long   
> time user. Not tolerating a heinous, objectionable, incorrect, etc.   
> email address may be a good thing in the long run and probably   
> reflects a better design. But in this instance it would be great if   
> there were a work-around...

It is not a 'heinous, objectionable, incorrect, etc.' -- it is an
*impossible* email address, if it really has a space in it.  It really
has nothing to do with being a better design either.

Your client's real, public E-Mail address does not have a space in it. 
It can't if it is being used with the public Internet.  He would not be
able to send or receive E-Mail. Period. E-Mail MTAs around the world
would be rejecting the E-Mail (being unable to parse the
To/From/Cc/etc. headers with such an E-Mail address in them).  Virtually all
E-Mail clients would refuse to let people send to such an address (they
would be popping up little warning messages about illegal To: or Cc:
headers). *Something else is going on.*  It should be possible for your
client to get his E-Mail with the MacBook if he has a proper E-Mail
address, you just need to talk to his ISP and find out just what the
*real* E-Mail address is.

I guess it *could* be that is ISP is in fact using MS-Windows Exchange
Server, in some mode other than as a POP or IMAP server -- ie it is
using Microsoft's *propriatary* E-Mail server hack, and is 'faking'
E-Mail addresses with spaces in them somehow. In which case you *might*
NEED a compatible Microsoft E-Mail client.  I believe there are
Microsoft E-Mail clients available for MacOSX.  I don't know if the
Microsoft E-Mail clients available for MacOSX can talk to MS-Windows
Exchange Server, using the Microsoft propriatary E-Mail server hack. 
Again you need to talk to your client's ISP and find out what is
*really* going on.


> 
> Frieda
> 
> 
> > -- 
> > Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933
> > Deepwoods Software        -- Linux Installation and Administration
> > http://www.deepsoft.com/  -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database
> > heller at deepsoft.com       -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk
> >
> 
> ///////////////////////////////////////////
> 
> Frieda Reichsman
> Molecules in Motion
> Interactive Molecular Structures
> http://www.moleculesinmotion.com
> 
> ///////////////////////////////////////////
> 
> 
> 
>                                               

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933
Deepwoods Software        -- Linux Installation and Administration
http://www.deepsoft.com/  -- Web Hosting, with CGI and Database
heller at deepsoft.com       -- Contract Programming: C/C++, Tcl/Tk