On Mon, 7 Jul 1997 08:50:52 -0500 (CDT),
"David A. Gatwood" <marsmail@globegate.utm.edu> wrote:
> The address is ssartori@cnj.digex.net.digex.net... assuming that's the

There's a port-mac68k subscriber with address ssartori@cnj.digex.net,
but there's noone with address ssartori@cnj.digex.net.digex.net (not
surprisingly!).

> a breach of netiquette just posting this suggestion), you can always
> telnet to port 25 of cnj.digex.net.digex.net (are there _really_ two
> digex.net's in that hostname?  -W-E-I-R-D-!!!!!  :-) and forge an
> unsubscribe.  Something like

NOT always.  There's a number of reasons for it not to work.

First of all, the host may not be on the Internet (has no IP address).
In order to be able to receive email with a given FQDN, you don't have
to have an A record for that name, but needs only an MX record.  Such
would be the case if cnj.digex.net.digex.net was behind a firewall.
The said host may not even exist at all.

Secondly, even if it does have an A record, the host may not be
running SMTP server on its own at all.

Thirdly, the SMTP server running on the host may check the From: field
against the origin of SMTP request, and refuse to accept for not
matching or whatever it feels is not right.

And last thing but not the least you should consider is the ethics of
forging an email message, even though it is pretty clear that the
subscriber is no longer getting any message from us.  Besides, you
might be held responsible for doing or even suggesting such an act,
David.  I'm not sure if it violates any laws, though.

Anyway, speculating on this list doesn't help the situation, so let's
stop talking about it until Allen unsubs him, okay?

Ken