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 Inter-
       net.  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 Allman <>
             (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 gateway 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%
            machine!machine!      

       (These are, respectively, an X.400 gateway, a gateway to an arbitrary inernal mail  system
       that lacks proper internet support, an UUCP gateway, and the last one is just boring user-
       name 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 char-
       acters, most commonly ''.'':

            "Eric P. Allman" <>

   Abbreviation.
       Many  mail  systems  let  users abbreviate the domain name.  For instance, users at berke-
       ley.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 destination.  Normally this happens automatically and  invisibly,  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 designated ''postmaster'' to which
       problems with the mail system 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).



4.2 Berkeley Distribution                   1995-06-24                                MAILADDR(7)