Aunc.1651
net.unix-wizards
utzoo!decvax!duke!unc!smb
Thu Jan 7 09:49:27 1982
U.S. Post Office Electronic Mail
a) The Post Awful is *not* interested in every home micro dialing in to
their service. The requirements are fairly strict -- things like a
minimum of 25 letters a month through *each* of their ECOM centers, and
the need to set up an open account with them. I have a vague
recollection that they were even requiring leased lines, rather than
permitting dial-up service. And the speeds seemed rather low, though I
don't remember any exact details.
b) Resale of this service *is* permitted, as I recall -- we'll probably
have to wait till Compuserve or one of the packet nets provides an
interface.
c) RFC733 already has a syntax for postal addresses, though I agree that
it's more an escape from the standard addresses than something that
could be parsed by machine. My suggestion is something like
"addr".zip@USPS
A zipcode makes a very nice "host" address, especially the 9-digit
variety. (To be sure, that takes about 30 bits -- guess it wouldn't
work with TCP/IP....) I have no preference about what to use for a
newline, though \n or \\ seem nice.
d) The standards *aren't* going to be set by us -- has anyone actually
read the Post Awful's documentation?
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