Conference 7.286::gateways

No it didn't.  You probably CC:'ed to ingram without any nodename.
In that case the RMC will supply it's own to canonicalize the address.
[This is needed due to the way SMTP/Internet mail works.]

If you supplied node::ingram, it would have done the expected action.

    
    	Ummm, supply a node:: in the CC: field in a message FROM VMS?
    
    	That shouldn't be necessary, should it?  Why would VMS try to tag
    	a router onto the CC: field if it didn't need it?
    

VMS doesn't use the CC line when you use the reply command so it's 
in effect a comment line.  (This is true for the To: line as well).

Unfortunately, To and CC do have significance in the Internet.  So
there's two choices: ignore them or try to deal with them.  Since
the mapping isn't exact, dealing is bound to lead to various wierd
interactions.

I didn't fill in the CC: address.  I just used SEND/SELF.

What I am explaining is apparently a new behavior.  It is something that
used to work "correctly" (from my point of view, and others too, I'm
sure), but now works incorrectly.  The gateway machine now fabricates a
befuddled address instead of the one that used to be correct.

    
    	Well, when you said you CC'd yourself I guess we stupidly assumed
    	that you CC'd yourself.  8^)
    
    	But what we should have assumed is that you have copy_self enabled
    	in your MAIL profile.
    

    I just ran some tests on all the RMC's and US8RMC is the only one
    showing the behavior you're seeing. I'll take a look at US8RMC and fix
    it.

    Fixed - sorry about that. Someone new installed the RMC kit on US8RMC
    and forgot to change the mail11 DECnet object.

I tried some experiments overnight.  They confirm that this was a
problem unique to US8RMC.

When a simple "username" appears in either the TO: or CC: fields of
VMS Mail, most of the RMC nodes apparently know how to extract the
implicit nodename (probably from where the outgoing message
originated), and construct a correct address for the Internet.  But
US8RMC doesn't.

	VMS Mail:	USERNAME

	us1rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	us2rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	us3rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	us4rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	us5rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	us6rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	us7rmc:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	decpa:		username@nodename.ENET.dec.com
	crl:		username@nodename.enet.dec.com
	vbormc:		username@nodename.enet.dec.com
	us8rmc:		USERNAME@US8RMC.bb.dec.com
	jrdmax:		username@29.715.enet.dec.com


JRDMAX inserts a numeric nodename because its node database is WAY
the heck out of date, last updated over three and a half years ago! 
Since I'm not in Japan, I'll never use JRDMAX, so I shouldn't care;
but have there really been no DECnet changes there since 1993?

---

I also checked out the From: fields these RMCs insert in the message
they dump onto the Internet.  The odd one in the bunch is JRDMAX,
which uses:

	Andy Ingraham <ingraham@29.715.enet.dec-j.co.jp>

Hey, it even works!

When I send mail through most of the gateway systems, they convert
VMS Mail's TO: field from this:

	xxxRMC::"username@domain.com"

to this:

	To: username@domain.com

However, VBORMC converts it to this:

	To: "username@domain.com"@vbormc.vbo.dec.com

This may be "correct", but it's confusing to anyone receiving the
message who happens to check (or try to use) the To: field.

Why does it do this?

Incoming mail through the RMC gateways put the Internet headers at the
bottom of the message with a reference to DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC ...

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======

Now that DECWRL is being retired, and already doesn't seem to be
accessible anymore, could someone please change this message?

    Re .10 - Thanks for pointing this out. I have now changed it on
    us1-8rmc.