Julian Mehnle writes:
Dick St.Peters wrote:
What this doesn't take into account is *why* addresses are forwarded.
For example, a common forwarding use is "role" addresses, such as
"treasurer(_at_)organization(_dot_)org" where a new treasurer is elected
periodically, or "service(_at_)company(_dot_)com" where multiple people
receive
the mail. In the latter case, sending mail directly to a forwarding
destination address may result in a request sitting in the mailbox of
someone who is on vacation, when the request could have been handled
by any of the other service@ recipients.
Those are also the cases that are most relevant for the forwarder being
white-listed by the recipient. If julian(_at_)mehnle(_dot_)net is the
"treasurer
@organization.org", then he should trust organization.org and not subject
messages forwarded by them to SPF checking. Problem solved.
When technical people can all get their IP providers to provide
customized reverse DNS for their IPs, then I will believe that
non-technical users just might stand a chance of getting their mail
providers to provide forwarder whitelisting.
Your mail's headers say your mail originated at an IPv6 IP with
reverse DNS name cl-40.muc-02.de.sixxs.net. Convince me that you
really wanted that particular reverse DNS name, and I will consider
that your "Problem solved" might be predictive.
Until that happens, I will continue to regard forwarder whitelisting
as naive a proposal as is custom reverse DNS for every mail sender.
For the custom reverse DNS case, the problem is half solved: the users
wanting something know - and know how to express - what they want.
For the typical mail-forwarding case, the user:
- doesn't know what it is he/she wants
- doesn't have any idea how mail gets to him/her
- doesn't know what an IP address is or what one is for
- doesn't know what the internet is or that email traverses it
On that latter point, a great many users whose internet experience
began after Microsoft named its browser "Internet Explorer" think the
internet is the web - what Internet Explorer explores - and do not
associate email with the internet. When one of my email users cable
or DSL connection is down, so they can't "do email", often their first
reaction is to call my support number to complain they can't do email.
It doesn't occur to them to try accessing websites to see if their
cable or DSL is working, because they simply don't see any relation
between their "online" connection and their email.
Expecting users to understand anything about how mail works is like
expecting drivers to understand what piston rings are for or telephone
users to know why their analog phone works when the power is off.
--
Dick St.Peters, stpeters(_at_)NetHeaven(_dot_)com
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