mailto: url

nop@theory.cs.mankato.msus.edu (Jay A. Carlson)

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Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1993 04:55:32 -0500
From: nop@theory.cs.mankato.msus.edu (Jay A. Carlson)
Message-id: <9307120955.AA02174@theory.cs.mankato.msus.edu>
To: timbl@nxoc01.cern.ch
Cc: wmperry@mango.ucs.indiana.edu, www-talk@nxoc01.cern.ch
In-reply-to: Tim Berners-Lee's message of Mon, 12 Jul 93 10:48:09 MET DST <9307120848.AA29289@ nxoc01.cern.ch >
Subject: mailto: url
Status: RO

> Note: smart browers could use the SMTP "VRFY" function to get
> some info corresponding to that mail address when the host`actually exists.

This is a little more complicated than it sounds.  First, the browser
must determine that SMTP is the delivery method that will be used for
that address, which is not necessarily anywhere accessible.  Once you
know it's SMTP, you need to use DNS to look for MX records that point
to the preferred delivery site, where you can use VRFY.

In most cases this can be reduced to a VRFY @site.dom.org, but it's
those exceptions that will get you....

Jay Carlson
nop@theory.cs.mankato.msus.edu

Flat text is just *never* what you want.   ---stephen p spackman