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[spf-discuss] Re: Another test case for the test suite...

2007-01-13 14:15:53
Seth Goodman wrote:

 [implicit "+mx +a"]
For that matter, you could imply ip4: as well.

No, IPs don't have SPF policies.

when presented with the SPF record, you don't
know if a name is a host name or domain name

Most domains relevant for SPF are also hosts.
Pure mail domains (with an MX but no IP) are
rare, and for an implicit "+mx +a" strategy
negative results (no IP or no MX) are cached.

this burns up queries from your quota.

Yes, but "v=spf1 +a/24 +mx/24 ?all" used to be
a "best guess policy", it's not too bad:  MTAs
trying "call back verification" (CBV) query the
MX (or the IP if there's no MX) anyway.

Explicitly stating whether it is a hostname or
domain name saves DNS queries, so implying
"a" and "MX" may not be a win.

JFTR, an SPF policy for fqdn.example without "+a"
can be still a host fqdn.example, and it can run
a smtpd.  And a policy for fqdn.example without
"+mx" doesn't imply that fqdn.example is a host.
That's not directly related.

My definition of "host" is "LDH + IP", does that
match your definition ?

Per-user policies aren't necessary,
Agreed, but ... there's no per-user macro, you
get it by combining others.

%l (local part) is needed for "per user policy",
the implementors will have some fun when they'll
try to integrate UTF8SMTP into their programs ;->

But I'm convinced it's possible to get it right,
otherwise I'd whine on the EAI mailing list.

the "exists" mechanism is too general.

-1 unless you can show that making it less
general makes it simpler.

*_IFF_* that's possible at all it should somehow
combine %l and "exists" into what's required for
SES.  An "ses" mechanism replacing "exists" (?)

SOFTFAIL could be replaced by op=testing.

While I have always disliked softfail and wouldn't
mind expressing softfail as a mechanism/modifier
rather than a result, I have always found op= to
be arcane.

op= is for anything "yes/no" "0/1" "true/false", the
least verbose way to arrange such "properties" like
"testing".  Of course "options=" or "flags=" or a
similar name introducing such lists would be more
obvious, but also longer.  The op= is a shorthand
for optional.properties=.  I don't see an advantage
for "testing=true helo=never" in comparison with a
combined list "op=testing.nohelo".  op= is shorter,
admittedly it's not nicer.

Let's not create another PERL.

It's about the UDP limit, not about inventing crude
abbreviations.  Would you really insist on 5 bytes
more as in "options=" ?  That could be the 5 bytes
needed for " -all" at the end.

Julian's last 2*2 table was fine, it favours backwards
compatibility wrt error conditions.  In essence it
says "use the TXT result for TempError if you query
both SPF and TXT".

+1 from me, but does it conflict with 4408?

I don't think so.  IMHO it's an implementation detail,
and Julian's table was the solution passing our giggle
tests here.

Frank


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