Ah, a typo! If your original message was long, you're likely to be pleased by having the complete text returned in the third part of the bounced message. Now, you may get away with a quick cut and paste, before resending it to the corrected address. The text and codes used in bounced messages vary depending on what type of mailbox system you're using, and the type of system that is bouncing your mail. Above, MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU returned the full text of my bounced mail. Some systems just send the beginning of your original text, while others (in particular some X.400 systems) send nothing but a note telling you the reason for the bounce.
| Note: When you fail to understand why a message is being | | bounced, contact your local postmaster for help. Send him | | a copy of the complete text of the bounced message up to | | and including the line "Subject:" at the bottom. | | You do not have to send him the text of your original | | message! |
Replying to an Internet message ———————————————- On the Internet, electronic messages have a common structure that is common across the network. On some systems, you can reply by using a reply command. If this feature is not available, use the sender's address as given in the mail header. The bounced message contained two mail headers: the header of my original message (in part three), and the header of the bounced message (in part one). The 'good' reply address is laid out in the 'From:' header. Thus, this message contains the following two 'good' addresses:
From: Network Mailer <MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU>
From: opresno@extern.uio.no
The Network Mailer located the second address line above in my original message, and used this address when sending the bounced message. (Note: there is no point in sending a message back to MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU since this is the address of an automatic mail handling program. Write to Postmaster@VM1.NoDak.EDU to talk to a "real person" at this computer center.) The exact order of a message's header may vary from system to system, but it will always contain the vital 'From:' line.
| Note: Exercise caution when replying to a message sent by | | a mailing list. If you wish to respond to the author only, | | make sure that the only address you're replying to is that | | person's. Don't send it to the entire list! |
Directories of services and subscribers ———————————————————- There is no complete global directory of available electronic addresses. On many systems, however, you can search lists of local users.
| Normally, you'd be better off by calling the recipient for | | his or her email address. |
Sometimes, the information given you by the recipient is not enough. Maybe the address needs an extension for the message to be routed through gateways to the destination. Another typical problem is that the syntax of the address is wrong. Perhaps you made a mistake, when you wrote it down (KIDCAFE became KIDSCAFE). The return address in the received messages' mailer headers may be wrong. It may use a syntax that is illegal on you email system, or it may suggest a routing that is unknown to your system. When trying to send mail to this address, the Mailer-Daemon complains: "This is a non-existent address." Again, the first person to contact for help is your local postmaster. On most Internet hosts this is simple. If you have a mailbox on the ULRIK computer at the University of Oslo, send a request for help to postmaster@ulrik.uio.no . If you are on COLNET in Buenos Aires, send to postmaster@colnetr.edu.ar . POSTMASTER is also the address to turn to on BITNET. Users of FidoNet or RelayNet, should write to SYSOP. It may not be that simple to locate the postmaster on UUCP. The postmaster ID may exist on some systems, but often he's just a name or a user code. You can get the email address of known Internet systems by sending a message to SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL . In the subject of the message, write the command WHOIS host-machine-name. Do not write anything in the text (will be ignored). You will get a report of the desired mailbox computer, and the address of the local postmaster. Example:
To: SERVICE@NIC.DDN.MIL
Subject: WHOIS AERO.ORG
Text: