Re: Looping messages

[Tom Samplonius <tom@sdf.com>]

On Thu, 24 Oct 1996, Andy Poling wrote:

> On Thu, 24 Oct 1996, Tom Samplonius wrote:
> >   Zmailer will loop messages if it can't deliver messages to the
> > postmaster.
> > 
> >   On one Zmailer machine, I have all postmaster mail forwarded to my
> > actual mail machine.  When Zmailer tried to send a copy of an error
> > message to me, but my mail machine wouldn't take it because it was too
> > big.  So then Zmailer generates another message to the postmaster with the
> > same results.  Each time the message grows in size, so it will never
> > actually get through.
> > 
> >   Zmailer should never bounce a message to an address from which the
> > message just bounced.
> 
> You should never (ever) forward postmaster to a remote address for exactly
> this reason.
> 
> I consider this in the realm of common sense, but just in case that's not

  That just silly.  If you got 4 mail servers, who's going to maintain a
postmaster mailbox on each server?

> good enough for you, the RFC's specify that errors go to a local address.

  Errors do go to a local address.  That local address is just forwarded
elsewhere.

  I checked RFC 1123, section 5.2.7 and found no specific host
requirements for the the "postmaster" address, other than all hosts must
accept mail for it.

Tom