RFC 1648 (rfc1648) - Page 1 of 4
Postmaster Convention for X
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group A. Cargille
Request for Comments: 1648 University of Wisconsin
Category: Standards Track July 1994
Postmaster Convention for X.400 Operations
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Abstract
Both STD 11, RFC 822 [1] and STD 3, RFC 1123 [2] (Host Requirements)
require that the email address "postmaster" be supported at all
hosts. This paper extends this concept to X.400 mail domains which
have registered RFC 1327 mapping rules, and which therefore appear to
have normal RFC 822-style addresses.
1. Postmaster Convention in RFC 822
Operating a reliable, large-scale electronic mail (email) network
requires cooperation between many mail managers and system
administrators. As noted in RFC 822 [1], often mail or system
managers need to be able to contact a responsible person at a remote
host without knowing any specific user name or address at that host.
For that reason, both RFC 822 and the Internet Host Requirements [2]
require that the address "postmaster" be supported at every Internet
host.
2. Postmaster Convention and X.400
However, RFC 822 is not the only email protocol being used in the
Internet. Some Internet sites are also running the X.400 (1984) [3]
and X.400 (1988) [4] email protocols. RFC 1327 specifies how to map
between X.400 and RFC 822 addresses [5]. When mapping rules are
used, addresses map cleanly between X.400 and RFC 822. In fact, it
is impossible to determine by inspecting the address whether the
recipient is an RFC 822 mail user or an X.400 mail user.
A paper by Rob Hagens and Alf Hansen describes an X.400 community
known as the "Global Open MHS Community" (GO-MHS) [6]. Many mail
domains in the GO-MHS Community have registered RFC 1327 mapping
rules. Therefore, users in those domains have RFC 822-style email
Cargille