Re: [EXIM] Why deferred instead of returning an error?

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Author: Philip Hazel
Date:  
To: Paul Slootman
CC: exim-users
Subject: Re: [EXIM] Why deferred instead of returning an error?
On Tue, 21 Jul 1998, Paul Slootman wrote:

> Someone at the local site had not configured his PC email package, so
> that the From: address was x@???. Our ISP (IMHO correctly) rejected
> this, as reported in exim's mainlog:
>
> 1998-07-21 16:38:00 Start queue run: pid=19089
> 1998-07-21 16:38:01 0yyVzg-0003p3-00 SMTP error from remote mailer after MAIL FROM: <x@???> SIZE=2018: host smtp.xs4all.nl [194.109.6.51]: 451 <x@???>... Invalid host name
> 1998-07-21 16:38:02 0yyVzg-0003p3-00 SMTP error from remote mailer after MAIL FROM: <x@???> SIZE=2018: host smtp.xs4all.nl [194.109.6.53]: 451 <x@???>... Invalid host name
> 1998-07-21 16:38:02 0yyVzg-0003p3-00 == daveloc@??? T=remote_smtp defer (0): SMTP error from remote mailer after MAIL FROM: <x@???> SIZE=2018: host smtp.xs4all.nl [194.109.6.53]: 451 <x@???>... Invalid host name
> 1998-07-21 16:38:02 End queue run: pid=19089
>
> However, this is repeated over and over at every queue run
> (200 times by now!). This isn't a temporary failure, so shouldn't
> exim return it (or at least try :-) ? Exim 1.92, by the way.



It is a temporary failure according to the remote host. 451 is a
temporary error code. See RFC 821. The remote host should have sent an
error code in the 500s for a permanent failure. It is broken. Exim works
only on the numberic return codes; it does not try to be clever and
inspect the text.


-- 
Philip Hazel            University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@???      Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.



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