MAILADDR(7)            Linux User's Manual            MAILADDR(7)

NAME
       mailaddr - mail addressing description

DESCRIPTION
       This  manual  page gives a brief introduction to SMTP mail
       addresses, as used on the Internet.  These  addresses  are
       in the general format

            user@domain

       where  a  domain  is  a hierarchical dot separated list of
       subdomains.  For example, the addresses

            eric@monet.berkeley.edu
            Eric Allman <eric@monet.berkeley.edu>
            eric@monet.berkeley.edu (Eric Allman)

       are valid forms of the same address.

       The domain part (``monet.berkeley.edu'') may be  the  name
       of  an internet host, or it may be a logical mail address.
       The domain part is not case sensitive.

       The local part (``eric'') is often a user  name,  but  its
       meaning  is defined by the local software.  It can be case
       sensitive, but usually isn't.  If  you  see  a  local-part
       that  looks like garbage, it is usually because of a gate-
       way between an internal e-mail system and  the  net,  here
       are some examples:

            "surname/admd=telemail/c=us/o=hp/prmd=hp"@some.where
            USER%SOMETHING@some.where
            machine!machine!name@some.where
            I2461572@some.where

       (These are, respectively, an X.400 gateway, a  gateway  to
       an  arbitrary inernal mail system that lacks proper inter-
       net support, an UUCP gateway, and the  last  one  is  just
       boring username policy.)

       The  real-name part (``Eric Allman'') can either be placed
       first, outside <>, or last, inside ().  (Strictly speaking
       the two aren't the same, but the difference is outside the
       scope of this page.)  The name may have to be quoted using
       "" if it contains certain characters, most commonly ``.'':

            "Eric P. Allman" <eric@monet.berkeley.edu>

   Abbreviation.
       Many mail systems let users abbreviate  the  domain  name.
       For  instance,  users  at  berkeley.edu  may get away with
       ``eric@monet'' to send mail to Eric Allman. This  behavior
       is deprecated.

   Route-addrs.
       Under  some  circumstances  it may be necessary to route a
       message through several hosts to get it to the final  des-
       tination.  Normally this happens automatically and invisi-
       bly, but sometimes not, particularly with old  and  broken
       software.   Addresses  which  show these relays are termed
       ``route-addrs.''  These use the syntax:

            <@hosta,@hostb:user@hostc>

       This specifies that the message should be sent  to  hosta,
       from  there  to  hostb,  and finally to hostc.  Some hosts
       disregard route-addrs and send directly to hostc.

       Route-addrs occur frequently on  return  addresses,  since
       these  are  generally  augmented  by  the software at each
       host.  It is generally possible  to  ignore  all  but  the
       ``user@hostc'' part of the address to determine the actual
       sender.

   Postmaster.
       Every site is required to have a user or user alias desig-
       nated  ``postmaster'' to which problems with the mail sys-
       tem may be addressed.  The ``postmaster'' address  is  not
       case sensitive.

   FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
       rtfm.mit.edu  and many mirrors store a collection of FAQs.
       Please find and use a nearby FAQ archive; there are dozens
       or  hundreds  around  the world.  mail/inter-network-guide
       explains how to send mail between many different networks.
       mail/country-codes  lists  the  top  level  domains  (e.g.
       ``no'' is Norway and ``ea''  is  Eritrea).   mail/college-
       email/part* gives some useful tips on how to locate e-mail
       addresses.

FILES
       /etc/aliases
       ~/.forward

SEE ALSO
       binmail(1), mail(1), mconnect(1), forward(5),  aliases(5),
       sendmail(8),  vrfy(8),  RFC822 (Standard for the Format of
       Arpa Internet Text Messages).

linux                     June 24, 1995                         1