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Re: [ietf-dkim] SSP sender expectations

2007-12-04 07:20:20
Hector Santos wrote:

Patrick Peterson wrote:

PS: SSP does not dictate receiver behavior  :)

and the irony is that raw DKIM *does* dictate receive behavior!

The Receiver either processes DKIM or it doesn't. But if it does, there is a militant inherent policy of "Ignore if Failure." Forget that it was ever signed.

IMO, this inherent DKIM policy defies logic and this makes SSP even harder to work out. It is the #1 flaw of the system and in my book, possibly the ultimate consideration if DKIM will become widely adopted or not. It policy, done to appease the mailing list people, will continue to be a thorn on DKIM's side until it is resolved or addressed by some means.

What that means, that SSP should of been designed to look at three DKIM possible results:

    1 - NOT SIGNED
    2 - SIGNED AND SUCCESSFUL
    3 - SIGNED BUT FAILURE

#1 and #3 are really not the same as DKIM wants it to be. Although SSP is allowed to do a SSP check for #1 and #3, any final classifications performed are dependent on those two states, including any future desirable reporting system based on it.

     "Report: This message was never signed."
     "Report: This message was signed and successful"
     "Report: This message was signed but it failed to be validated."

DKIM "ignore if failure" simply makes everything more complicated for any augmented policy-based or reputation-based add-on technology. That high potential realistic state simply can not be ignored.

--
Sincerely

Hector Santos, CTO
http://www.santronics.com
http://santronics.blogspot.com

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