1. How can I route domainized mail for my uucp neighbor directly to them ?

Domain-based mail goes to your smarthost (as defined in static)
unless you override that route with an entry in paths.

If you mail to `friend@hostname.domain' and you're directly
connected to them via UUCP, you can force a direct delivery
with a /waffle/uucp/paths entry of :

        hostname.domain         hostname

2. What should I do with my headers?

Not a lot unless you know what you're doing.

In general, you want your `netmail' and `netnews' parameters in
static to result in valid headers, so that people can reply to you.

If you can do so, get into a domain and domainize all your headers.
It'll make your life easier and will do the same for people who
exchange mail with you.

The important thing to remember is that if you put a domain-style
address out without being domainized, people will probably not be
able to reply to your mail.  Just because an address looks good
doesn't make it valid.  Most notably, `user@onesite.twosite.uucp'
is invalid.

3. I'm not in a domain.  What should my headers look like ?

The work you put into getting a real domain address may easily be
less than the work you put into trying to figure out why people
from mismanaged or poorly-equipped sites can't reach you.

In general, you want to have an address that is a known-good route
from a known site.

Some possibilities are:

        All bang-path ===> some_known_host!your_site!you
                (i.e. mailfrom: psuvax1!%u!%A
                   or mailfrom: psuvax1!%n!%A)

        mixed format  ===> you%your_site.uucp@some_internet_site
                (i.e. mailfrom: %A%%%n@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu)
                           your_site!you@some_internet_site
                (i.e. mailfrom: %u!%A@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu
                   or mailfrom: %n!%A@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu)

        (All of the examples above assume something like:
                node: hogbbs.UUCP
                uucpname: hogbbs
         in your static file)

The actual format that works best for you depends on who you're
connected to and what their mailer can handle.

Note that the all bang-path format is not recommended for news;
sites running B News will mangle your article in such a way that
downstream sites running newer software will drop it on the floor.

4. I'm a single-user site. Should I register in the UUCP maps?

Yes, or get a domain name.  (FQDN==fully qualified domain name)

The bottom line is that if people try to mail to you, you want
your address to be reachable.  From Internet, you want to get
domainized and get a MX record if you can.

HOWEVER:

Until an error in rnews gets fixed, however, putting your FQDN in
news can cause news to not be fed IF your feed's news-header FQDN
is a strict substring of your news-header FQDN -- so you _have_
to go with the registered name in those cases.  (an example:  if
your news feed identifies itself as foo.domain, and your name is
bar.foo.domain, rnews won't send your news out unless you get
tricky with options and your feed gets tricky with config files.)

From UUCP-only sites that don't touch Internet and don't care enough
about mail reliability to get a domain name, you need at least a map
entry (or a header that routes you through somebody with a map entry you
can trust).

Also, you shouldn't put anything in your Path: header between the `!'s
other than a FQDN or your _registered_ uucp name.  if you like the name
`foo' but don't register it, don't send out news that says:

  `Path: foo!user'

since the person who actually did the _right_ thing and registered foo
won't ever see your news -- and neither will the sites beyond that site,
probably.  What you _should_ have in this case is

  `Path: foo.some.org!user'

by setting the `newsname' parameter in the STATIC file.

not to MENTION mail getting mixed up.


5. Can I display something other than the sender when listing mail ?

Yes, as of 1.65 you can specify the header you want to see when you do a
list of messages via the `listmail' item in waffle/system/static .
Unfortunately, this is not configurable per-user, only per-site.

6. Does Waffle support mail folders ?

Yes, as of 1.65.

If you have no new mail in your mailbox, you can say `mail *' to
get a list of mailboxes to read.

7. Can I use (my favorite mail program) ?

Some people have had luck with `readmail' for reading only,
and at 1.65 either mush or pc-elm should work for read/write.

Version 1.65 has MMDF-style mailboxes with messages separated
by four control-A's, so mush and pc-elm should be able to
read/write these messages, though you'll have to reindex your
mailbox with `makebox' or the like if you write to it.

8. Can I keep a record of all mail that comes into the system ?

Yes, create a file called `inbox' in /waffle/admin and all incoming mail
will be copied there. You can stash this file elsewhere via the rr.inbox
variable in the static file. See rmail.doc for more information...

9. Can I get FidoNet Netmail on my Waffle?

See question 12 under NEWS, for information about Erin/Amanda.

10. I tried to pipe a message into rmail, but it won't use the headers I
    supplied.

this from roy@sendai.cybrspc.mn.org (Roy M. Silvernail)
(now roy@sendai.scytale.com) :

Waffle rmail wants to see a From_ line as the <first> line in a mail
message.  The From_ line is structured

    "From user date/timestamp remote from site"

when you finally receive the mail item.  Only the "From user" portion is
required.  rmail constructs the remainder if it's not present.  rmail
uses this line as a marker, placing its own Received: header after it.
If the From_ line is not first, rmail constructs a default set of
headers, and appends all the supplied text as the message body.

Don't confuse the From_ line (where From is followed by a space) with
the From: line, which shows the sender's return address and GECOS entry
(fancy name for the realname field. Waffle calls it 'identity'). Both
are required for a well-formed mail message.

Other than putting the From_ line first, there is no particular order to
the headers.  rmail will fill in any required headers that are not
present (such as Date:) using information from the static file.  Be sure
to place one empty line after the headers.