objections, again

["D. J. Bernstein" <[e-mail]>]

> Are you putting up such exaggerated and overblown resistence to this idea 

Obviously it's time to refresh your memory:

   * Software following Chris's proposal can't handle mail for
     existing names that contain plus signs. (In contrast, qmail
     automatically handles usernames that contain the separator.)

   * Chris's delivered-to-owner default violates RFC 2119, section 6.

   * Chris's syntax requirements prohibit MUAs from sending mail to
     some valid addresses.

   * Chris's syntax requirements produce misdirected mail for _all_
     quoted addresses when the MTA handles quoting correctly (as, e.g.,
     MMDF does).

   * Chris's validation restriction is bizarre.

   * Chris's MLM requirement creates a new security problem when a+b is
     subscribed to a mailing list and a+c is a different user.

   * Chris's MLM requirement prohibits cryptographic applications of
     subaddresses.

   * The point of Chris's proposal is to solve an MLM problem that is
     already solved by a separation between posting addresses and
     subscription addresses---a feature needed by many users anyway.

   * Chris's other requirements are so unclear as to be useless. In
     several cases, I suspect the clear versions will be objectionable.

   * Chris's proposal is not the de facto standard for address
     hierarchies.

   * Chris's proposal is inconsistent with the de facto ``-request''
     standard when account names are used as mailing lists.

Finally, and most importantly, MY USERS DO NOT WANT THESE RESTRICTIONS.
Even the ones who prefer + as the usual separator sometimes want more
flexibility than Chris's proposal allows.

In short, Chris's proposal is a disaster.

Now, it's vaguely amusing to see you drawing stupid analogies, accusing
me of exaggeration, and blaming me for your failure to communicate; but
I'd prefer to see you discuss the specifics.

> because you want to minimize the probability of the inclusion of such a 
> feature in competing product?

In fact, users have recently pressured the authors of several other MTAs
to imitate qmail's subaddressing. And, of course, some MTAs had the
feature years before qmail, though most users were scared away by the
poorly designed user interfaces.

---Dan
Set up a new mailing list in a single command. http://pobox.com/~djb/ezmlm.html