Internet address syntax (and semantics, for that matter)

[Blair P. Houghton]

In article <29725 at news.Think.COM> barmar at think.COM (Barry Margolin) writes:
>In article <2274 at ttardis.UUCP> jcf3703 at ttardis.UUCP (chap flack) writes:
>>chenry at carleton.edu.
>>So as a test drive, I tried sending something to
>>cfctech!sharkey!chenry at carleton.edu.
[...describes bounce from sharkey...]
>
>  I suspect that it is ending up being
>interpreted as
>
>	cfctech! ((sharkey!chenry) @carlton.edu)

You say:  cfctech to carleton to sharkey to chenry	[Triple play! :-)]

>If this is so, then it indicates that cfctech also has a "smart
>router", so you should try "cfctech!chenry at carlton.edu".

Huh?

The way a bang-at address is interpreted (is it really undefined)
is to send to the at-machine, then start down the bang-path.

It would look like

	carleton to cfctech to sharkey to chenry

and the guy's address would have to be chenry at sharkey for that to work.

It's obvious that our friend only has to use the address "chenry at carleton",
since the mail got through carleton to cfctech, and then to sharkey,
which bounced it.

What I'd like to know is, why not just fix mailers to accept the address as

	"carleton to cfctech to..."

instead of all this !%@.

				--Blair
				  "*&%$@#$"