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Re: Overzealous auto-responding?

1997-09-23 19:55:26
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 1997 15:01:41 -0500
From: wwgrol(_at_)sparc01(_dot_)fw(_dot_)hac(_dot_)com (W. Wesley Groleau 
x4923)
Subject: Re: Overzealous auto-responding?

Even bouncing may be too much.  I've been doing that with the idea that
the more hassle I give the spammers, the better.  But at least 20% *
double bounce when based on procmail/formail header parsing, and if based
on EXITCODE = <number> my sysadmin has to delete an advisory message that
mail to me bounced.

Since EXITCODE is meaningful to your MTA, I assume it is sendmail.  The
advisory message received by your sysadmin is a consequence of setting
the P option of sendmail.  The P option is not recommended except when
debugging the sendmail.cf.  There's nothing dangerous about leaving it
on all the time.  That's the prerogative of your sysadmin.  However,
quoting from the Bat Book:

  Ordinarily, notification of locally bounced mail and other mail
  problems is sent back (bounced) to the sender of the message.  The
  local person in the role of Postmaster does not get a copy of local
  failed mail.

  The P option tells sendmail to send a copy of all failed mail to
  another person, often Postmaster.  Under V8 and SunOS, that copy
  contains only the failed message's header.  Under other versions of
  sendmail, that copy includes both the header and the body.

  [...] While debugging a new sendmail.cf file, it is wise to define
  the P option so that you receive a copy of all failed mail.  Once the
  configuration file is stable, the P option may either be removed or
  the name replaced with an alias to a program.  Such a program could
  filter the copies of error mail so that only serious problems would
  be seen.

In practice, I find this to be excellent advice.

What this boils down to is that your sysadmin has asked for those
advisory messages and deserves what s/he asked for.  ;)

Regards, Ed
-- 
It takes a big man to cry, but it takes an even bigger man to laugh at that
man.  -- Jack Handey

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