David Woodhouse wrote:
On Fri, 2004-03-26 at 14:20 -0500, Meng Weng Wong wrote:
Actually, that's what the 251 response is for, but to my knowledge
nobody implements it. See RFC2821 section 3.4.
I definitely meant 551.
A 251 result code means:
"OK, I'll take it but you should be using <newuser(_at_)newdomain(_dot_)com>"
A 551 result code means:
"I don't want that. Send it to <newuser(_at_)newdomain(_dot_)com>"
You can't currently assume that such a 551 result will be acted upon.
That's what I'm suggesting we change.
So if you send me a mail to a user with a .forward file, and you have an
SPF record, I should have the option of just responding with
"551 needs forwarding; <user(_at_)elsewhere(_dot_)org>" and expect you do DTRT
without forcing _me_, the uninterested third party, to play rewriting
games for your benefit.
Both seem completely legitimate to use. After all, it's your mail
service and your rules. The flip side of this is that the owner of that
.forward file might be pretty upset to learn that you are an
"uninterested third party". Perhaps not -- it is something you'd need
to consider.