OpenVMS Mail is invoked using the MAIL command from the DCL prompt:
$ MAIL MAIL>
The MAIL command SEND is used to send a message to a user. In addition to letting you send mail, MAIL will let you READ, FILE, FORWARD, DELETE, PRINT, and REPLY to messages that other users send you. Table 7-1 lists some of the more common MAIL commands.
Table 7-1 Common MAIL Commands
| Command | Description |
| HELP | Displays on-line help for MAIL |
| READ | Read old and new MAIL messages |
| DIRECTORY | List a summary of mail messages |
| BACK | Display previous message |
| NEXT | Display next message |
| SEND | Send mail to another user |
| REPLY | Reply to the sender of a message |
| DELETE | Delete a mail message |
| EXTRACT | Extract a message to a file |
| Print a MAIL message | |
| SELECT | Select messages in a folder |
| MOVE | Move a MAIL message to another folder |
| FORWARD | Forward a message to another user |
| SEARCH | Search messages for a given substring |
| COMPRESS | Compress a MAIL file to reclaim storage |
| SET-SHOW | SET and SHOW various user settings |
Note: A public domain menu interface to VMS Mail is available by using the command MENUMAIL at the DCL prompt ($). New users may find this interface more "user-friendly."
The Internet and BITNET forwarding described above is handled by an extension to OpenVMS MAIL called MX. See Section 7.2 for more information about MX.
Note: MAIL creates files in your default MAIL directory in which your mail messages are stored, such as MAIL.MAI and MAIL$E491AEE300050094.MAI. These files should never be deleted using the DCL command DELETE. See Section 7.1.9.1 and Section 7.1.14 for more information about these files.
Users on computers that are connected to BITNET and Internet generally have addresses of the following form:
username@systemname
where systemname is usually (but not always) a series of names separated by dots, for example:
fpwilson@fpwvax.fpwu.edu mccammon@swansong.bitnet
Your Internet e-mail address is:
username@WKU.EDU
where username is your username. WKU.EDU is the Internet name for Western Kentucky University. All mail is routed from one central machine to the appropriate internal destination.
There are a variety of formats that e-mail addresses can have. In most cases, you can use whatever address someone gives you just by adding "" to the address. For example, many addresses include imbedded percent signs (%):
jsackett%janos@CALDY.MARK.EDU
In general, this address is usually interpreted with everything to the left of the @ as being a "funny username," so the mail is sent to jsackett%janos at CALDY.MARK.EDU on the assumption that CALDY.MARK.EDU will know what to do with it.
The MXALIAS utility can be used to define MX aliases for e-mail addresses; see Section 7.2.7, The MXALIAS Utility, for information about using MXALIAS. MX aliases are used just as if sending mail through MX to a local user:
MX%alias
Any MX% address given without the @host part of the address is checked to see if it is an MX alias. If it is, the equated address is used; if not, the specified address is assumed to be that of a local user.
Note: As of this writing, VMS Mail no longer requires the MX% prefix when sending mail to Internet-style addresses. You will still need to specify the prefix if the address contains a "bang" (!) or a percent sign (%).
MAIL> SEND [filename] [/qualifiers]
You will be asked to provide the address of the account to whom you are sending the message, a subject for the message, and the message text. The address and the subject are prompted by To: and Subj: respectively. There are four ways you can provide the message text:
Enter your message below. Press Ctrl/Z when complete, or Ctrl/C to quit:
From here you can type the message text with limited editing capabilities. Once you press Return on a line, you can't get back to the line to change it. SEND/NOEDIT is useful for sending short, quick messages where you don't need any editing capabilities.
Note: You need to press Return at the end of each line. If you do not press Return, the line will appear to wrap; however, wrapped lines appear as one long line to the reader.
Note: The editing work done on the file specified will not be saved into a new version of the file.
You can control whether the SEND command defaults to /EDIT or /NOEDIT from DCL. If you invoke MAIL with MAIL/EDIT, SEND will default to /EDIT. Otherwise, SEND defaults to /NOEDIT.
$ mail/edit MAIL> send !Same as SEND/EDIT . . .
Example 7-1 shows how to send a short message to another user on the system.
Example 7-1 Sending Mail to Another User
MAIL> send/noedit <RETURN> To: gripe <RETURN> Subj: Hello <RETURN> Enter your message below. Press Ctrl/Z when complete, or Ctrl/C to quit: This is a test message.... <RETURN> <RETURN> Toodles! <RETURN> Ctrl-Z MAIL>
Example 7-2 demonstrates sending e-mail to an Internet address. In this example, the MAIL editor is set to EDT.
Example 7-2 Sending Mail with MX Addressing
MAIL> send/edit <RETURN> To: fpwilson@fpwvax.fpwu.edu <RETURN> Subj: This is a test <RETURN> [EOB] *c <RETURN> . . .
Example 7-3 demonstrates sending a file to two other users via MAIL. As seen in the example, you can mix normal addresses with Internet addresses.
Example 7-3 Sending Mail to Multiple Addresses
MAIL> SEND/NOEDIT TEST.TXT <RETURN> To: SMITH,MCCAMMON@SWANSONG.BITNET <RETURN> Subj: This is the TEST.TXT file you requested <RETURN> MAIL>
The use of /NOHEADER removes the first four lines (the OpenVMS Mail header) of the message (see Example 7-4, Sample Mail Message, for a description of the OpenVMS Mail headers). When a message is forwarded many times, the headers continually build, making the message longer. Using FORWARD/NOHEADER will help keep the message "clean."
It is a good idea to get in the habit of using FORWARD/EDIT so that you can tack a brief
message from you to the recipient of the forwarded mail which gives them a reference point for
the message.
7.1.3.2 REPLYing to a Message
If you have received a message from someone and wish to reply to that user, simply use the
REPLY command. When REPLYing to a message, the From: line is used as the recipient address
and "RE:" is prepended to the subject line. Once again, REPLY accepts the same qualifiers as
SEND and FORWARD, with the addition of /EXTRACT.
Specifying /EXTRACT causes mail to extract the full text (headers and all) of the current message and place it in an editor. You can then reference your reply to the message that was sent to you. To help separate the original text of a message from your reply, it's common practice to mark the original text in the first by a unique character such as ">" or " | ".
Note: Do not use a period (.) as the unique character in marking original text as it can confuse mailer software on the networks.
If you want to /EXTRACT replies by default, you can define the following symbol in your LOGIN.COM to invoke MAIL:
$ MAIL :== MAIL/EDIT=(SEND,REPLY=EXTRACT)
Now, when you type MAIL from the DCL ($) prompt, MAIL is invoked with the SEND and REPLY commands defaulting to /EDIT. By placing this symbol definition in your LOGIN.COM (see Section 2.5), it will automatically be defined each time you login.
Note: When your default editor is TPU, the message you are replying to will automatically be quoted, and your mail signature file will automatically be included in the message.
New mail on node AXP1 from AXP1::VOPER (19:01)
When you enter MAIL, you are automatically placed in one of two MAIL folders. If you have any new messages, the current folder is the NEWMAIL folder; if you do not have new messages, the MAIL folder is selected. Folders are discussed in detail in Section 7.1.5.
MAIL will tell you if you have new mail before showing you the MAIL prompt:
$ MAIL You have 3 new messages. MAIL>
If you have multiple folders, you can specify the folder name on the DIRECTORY command line. For example, if you are in the NEWMAIL folder and you want a listing of all the messages in your MAIL folder, the following command would be used:
MAIL> DIRECTORY MAIL
Table 7-2 Common DIRECTORY Qualifiers
| DIRECTORY Qualifier | Description |
| /NEW | Get a directory of your NEWMAIL folder. |
| /FOLDER | Get a directory of all the folders in your MAIL file. |
| /FROM=username | Get a directory of messages from username. The username is actually used as a search substring against the From: lines; specifying "WILLI" would match all messages whose From: addresses contained the string "WILLI". |
| /SUBJECT="topic" | Get a directory of messages that have "topic" in their Subj: lines. |
%MAIL-E-NOTREADIN, you aren't reading a message
The sections below describe the commands used to select particular messages to be read.
A Specific Message
To read any specific mail message from your directory, simply type the number of the message and it will be displayed. If you press Return, you will begin with the first message listed.
CURRENT
The CURRENT command views the current message, beginning from the start of the message. This is equivalent to typing the number of the current message at the MAIL> prompt.
NEXT
The NEXT command views the next available message, beginning from the start of that message. This is equivalent to typing the number of the next message at the MAIL> prompt.
BACK
The BACK command views the previous message, beginning from the start of the message. This is equivalent to typing the number of the previous message at the MAIL> prompt.
READ
The READ command can also be used to read mail. The format of the READ command is:
MAIL> READ [folder-name] [message-number]
If you don't specify the name of a folder, the currently selected folder is used. If you don't specify a message number, the next message is displayed. Pressing Return at the MAIL> prompt performs the same function as the READ command.
If you receive new mail while you are already in MAIL, you can type READ/NEW to read the new messages.
Note: Sometimes MAIL will tell you that you have new mail, when you really do not have any new mail.
The READ/NEW command will clear these "phantom" newmail messages.
7.1.4.3 Mail Message Formats
Example 7-4 shows the format of a mail message.
Example 7-4 Sample Mail Message
(1) #1 8-AUG-1991 14:25:14.15 NEWMAIL (2) From: AXP1::SMITHJB "Joe Bob Smith" (3) To: JONES (4) CC: (5) Subj: Hello (6) This is a test message.... Toodles! MAIL>
Press RETURN for more...
if there is more of the message to be read.
To tell people how to send mail to you, you will have to give them your electronic mail address. In the Internet address form, your address is:
username@WKU.EDU
where username is simply your OpenVMS username.
When you send electronic mail, you usually want your recipient to be able to reply to you. The MX
mailer will automatically precede your message with an Internet-compatible From: line that shows
your address; this will usually allow replies to work correctly. However, some network
"gateways" modify the From: information in such a way as to make the mail unreplyable. It is
therefore advisable to include your electronic mail address in the text of your message, usually as part of
your signature (see Section 7.1.13).
7.1.5 Managing Your Directory
In addition to navigating between messages, you can create folders, move between folders, and
delete messages.
By default, your OpenVMS Mail profile includes three standard folders, which are created and
deleted as necessary. First, as previously noted, all new mail is placed in a folder named
NEWMAIL. Once read, the message is moved from NEWMAIL to another folder named MAIL
upon exiting mail, issuing a DIRECTORY/NEW command, or selecting a different folder. If you
choose to delete a message, it will be moved to a folder named WASTEBASKET, which is
automatically emptied each time you EXIT from mail. As described earlier, the contents of a mail
folder can be displayed with DIRECTORY; the names of all available folders can be displayed
using the DIRECTORY/FOLDER command.
7.1.5.1 SELECT
The SELECT command is used to select all the messages in a given mail folder:
MAIL> SELECT folder-name
where folder-name is the name of one of your mail folders. SELECT accepts many of the same qualifiers that DIRECTORY will accept (see Table 7-2, Common DIRECTORY Qualifiers). You can select messages based on the message date with the qualifiers /BEFORE=time and /SINCE=time, based on the sender with /FROM=user, or the subject with /SUBJECT=meeting. Example 7-5 shows how you can combine the qualifiers to select certain messages, display the messages selected, and then read one.
Example 7-5 The SELECT Command in MAIL
MAIL> SELECT MAIL/FROM=BOSS/SINCE=7-MAY/SUBJ=MEETING <RETURN>
3 messages selected
MAIL> DIR <RETURN>
# From Date Subject
1 AXP1::BOSS 17-MAY-1991 Meeting minutes for April
2 AXP1::BOSS 8-AUG-1991 This morning's meeting
3 AXP1::BOSS 16-AUG-1991 Elvis's anniversary
MAIL> READ 2 <RETURN>
#2 8-AUG-1991 15:09:23.12
MAIL
From: AXP1::BOSS "The Head Cheese"
To: SMITHJB
CC:
Subj: This morning's meeting
This morning's meeting has been cancelled.
MAIL>
MAIL> MOVE folder-name
where folder-name is the name of one of your mail folders. If the folder does not currently exist,
OpenVMS Mail will prompt you to ask if you wish to create a new folder.
7.1.5.3 DELETE
You can delete messages using the DELETE command. DELETE without any parameters deletes
the current message. You can also specify a particular message number or range of numbers.
When a message is deleted, it is really just moved to the WASTEBASKET folder until you
PURGE or EXIT MAIL. Example 7-6 demonstrates the DELETE command.
To delete all of the messages in a folder, select that folder and type DELETE/ALL. When a folder has no messages in it, the folder is automatically deleted.
Example 7-6 Deleting Mail Messages
MAIL> dir <RETURN>
# From Date Subject
1 john@istanbul.no 5-MAY-1991 The Turks
2 AXP1::BOSS 17-MAY-1991 Meeting minutes for April
3 AXP1::SMITHJB 20-MAY-1991 RE: Lunch tomorrow?
4 ALPHA::WILLIMASCA 23-MAY-1991 RE: Dialup problems
MAIL> delete 1,3-4 <RETURN>
MAIL> dir <RETURN>
# From Date Subject
1 (Deleted)
2 AXP1::BOSS 17-MAY-1991 Meeting minutes for April
3 (Deleted)
4 (Deleted)
Example 7-7 Recovering Deleted Mail Messages
%MAIL-I-SELECTED, 3 messages selected
MAIL> dir <RETURN>
WASTEBASKET
# From Date Subject
1 john@istanbul.no 5-MAY-1991 The Turks
2 AXP1::SMITHJB 20-MAY-1991 RE: Lunch tomorrow?
3 ALPHA::WILLIAMSCA 23-MAY-1991 RE: Dialup problems
MAIL> 3 <RETURN>
WASTEBASKET
#3 23-MAY-1991 11:23:46.12
From: ALPHA::WILLIAMSCA
To: COPUSDS
CC:
Subj: RE: Dialup problems
[...] body of letter here....
MAIL> MOVE acrs <RETURN>
MAIL> dir <RETURN>
WASTEBASKET
# From Date Subject
1 john@istanbul.no 5-MAY-1991 The Turks
2 AXP1::SMITHJB 20-MAY-1991 RE: Lunch tomorrow?
3 (Deleted)
MAIL> dir acrs <RETURN>
ACRS
# From Date Subject
1 ALPHA::WILLIAMSCA 23-MAY-1991 RE: Dialup problems
MAIL>
Note: When a message is listed as (Deleted) in the WASTEBASKET folder, it has merely been moved into another folder. See the sections on SELECT and MOVE for more information.
Routinely compressing your mail file can significantly improve mail performance, especially if you receive and delete a lot of messages.
Note: The mail files for all users are automatically compressed once a month by a batch job running on the system.
The default print queue is SYS$PRINT. You can specify the print queue on the PRINT command
with the /QUEUE qualifier, and you can change the default queue in your profile with the SET
QUEUE command.
7.1.7 Extracting Messages
The EXTRACT command can be used to extract the current message to a text file in a directory.
The format of the command is:
MAIL> EXTRACT filename
where filename is any valid OpenVMS file name. You can specify complete specifications using disk, directory, logical names, etc.
Once the message has been extracted, you can edit, print, delete, etc., the created text file.
Useful EXTRACT qualifiers include /APPEND (append the current message to an existing file),
/ALL (extracts all selected messages to the named file), and /NOHEADER (removes the four-line
OpenVMS Mail header from the message).
7.1.8 EXITing OpenVMS Mail
To exit OpenVMS Mail, simply press Ctrl-Z or type EXIT at the MAIL> prompt. All messages
in your WASTEBASKET folder (see Section 7.1.5 for information about this folder) are deleted
when you EXIT MAIL. To exit from MAIL without deleting the messages, you can use the QUIT
command.
7.1.9 Customizing Mail
You can use the SET command to customize your MAIL environment and the SHOW command
to display the current settings. Table 7-3 describes some of the SET-SHOW commands.
| MAIL Command | Effect |
| SET MAIL_DIRECTORY | Change the directory in which your MAIL*.MAI files are stored. |
| SET PERSONAL_NAME | Set a personal name. |
| SET FORWARD | Forward incoming mail to another e-mail address. |
| SET EDITOR | Choose your MAIL editor (TPU, EDT, etc.). |
| SET COPY_SELF | Mail yourself a copy of every message sent from your account. |
The sections below describe a couple of the commands in detail. The results of these commands
are stored in system file used by MAIL. Thus, changes to your MAIL settings remain in-effect
between login sessions, i.e., you do not have to reSET them every time you login. For more
information, consult the on-line help for SET (HELP SET).
7.1.9.1 Mail Directory
By default, all of your MAIL*.MAI files are stored in your login directory, SYS$LOGIN. This
arrangement can cause your login directory to become cluttered with files like
MAIL$E491AEE300050094.MAI. The solution to the clutter is to set up a mail directory for
your MAIL*.MAI files. To create a mail directory, issue the SET MAIL_DIRECTORY
command from within MAIL:
$ mail MAIL> set mail_directory [.mail]
The SET MAIL_DIRECTORY command will automatically create the named subdirectory under
your SYS$LOGIN directory and move all the MAIL*.MAI files from SYS$LOGIN to the
subdirectory, essentially hiding the cluttering MAIL*.MAI files. NOTE: The first time a user logs
into the system a MAIL directory will automatically be created for the user. The current MAIL
directory name can be seen by using the SHOW MAIL_DIRECTORY command in the MAIL
utility.
7.1.9.2 Personal Name
The SET PERSONAL_NAME command lets you set a personal name that will be included as
part of the From: line for all mail messages you send. Without a personal name, the From: line
consists only of the sending user's node name and username:
From: AXP1::SMITHJB
When you define a personal name, the personal name is added to the From: line:
From: AXP1::SMITHJB "Joe Bob Smith"
The following example shows how to set a personal name:
MAIL> SET PERSONAL_NAME "My own personal name" MAIL> SHOW PERSONAL Your personal name is "My own personal name". MAIL>
SET NOPERSONAL_NAME cancels a personal name. SEND lets you override the personal
name for a given message by using the /PERSONAL qualifier.
7.1.9.3 Forwarding Addresses
If you would like for your mail to automatically be forwarded to another account, you can use the
SET FORWARD command. It takes the address of another user as its parameter:
MAIL> SET FORWARD NOBODY
This command would cause all new mail messages to be routed to user NOBODY. Forwarding can be cancelled with the command SET NOFORWARD.
It's possible to forward all of your OpenVMS mail to your CMS account with a command like the following:
MAIL> SET FORWARD "user@WKYUVM.WKU.EDU"
MX stands for Message Exchange; it is the software that handles mail to BITNET and Internet
systems. MX itself is described Section 7.2. The three double-quote characters (") are necessary
before and after the address.
7.1.9.4 Mail Editor
MAIL allows you to choose the editor that you use for SEND, REPLY, and FORWARD /EDIT.
The following editors are available: TPU, EDT, and LSE. To set your MAIL editor, enter the
following command:
MAIL> SET EDITOR editor_name
where editor_name is either TPU, EDT, or LSE. By default, your MAIL editor is TPU (aka EVE).
Note: Using EVE as your default editor will enable you to have messages automatically quoted using REPLY/EXTRACT. Using EVE also allows you to have your signature file automatically included in all messages sent with SEND/EDIT, FORWARD/EDIT, and REPLY/EDIT. To enable the automatic inclusion of the signature, you must define the logical EVE_SIGNATURE to point to the file containing the signature text:
$ DEFINE EVE_SIGNATURE device:[directory]name.type
The SHOW KEY command can be used to show the current definition of a key.
7.1.11 Distribution Lists
MAIL allows you to use distribution lists when you want to send mail to groups of people. A
distribution list is a file containing the MAIL address (local or with MX) of each person you wish
to receive the message. Each address must be on its own line; comments can be included using the
exclamation point (!) as the comment character.
For example, if you are frequently sending messages to a group of five people, you can create a file FRIENDS.DIS that contains the addresses of those five users:
$ CREATE FRIENDS.DIS ! Distribution list for friends MCCAMMON !Rick McCammon LANSDALE@FRE.TOWSON.EDU !Joe Lansdale fpwilson@fpwvax.fpwu.edu !Paul Wilson VACHSS !Andrew Vachss MX%"jsackett%janos@CALDY.MARK.EDU" !Jeffrey Sackett Ctrl-Z $
Once you have created a distribution list, you tell MAIL to use it by using the at-sign (@) before the file name as the To: recipient:
MAIL> SEND/NOEDIT TEST.TXT To: @FRIENDS Subj: For friends only....
MAIL looks for a distribution list with the type .DIS in the current default directory. If the file has
another type or is in another directory, you must provide the type and/or directory.
7.1.12 Logical Names and MAIL
You can use logical names (described in Section 2.4, Logical Names) to provide alternative
addresses for users. For example, suppose you'd prefer to send mail to Joe using JOE instead of
his username, SMITHJB. This can be accomplished with the following logical definition:
$ DEFINE JOE SMITHJB
Now you can specify JOE as the recipient on the To: line; MAIL will translate the logical and send the message to SMITHJB:
MAIL> SEND To: JOE Subj: Test . . . MAIL>
If you are going to use an MX address in a logical name, you must be sure to enclose it in double-quotes so that DCL doesn't parse them away. For example, the following command correctly defines the logical RICK:
$ DEFINE RICK "MCCAMMON@BOGUS.EDU"
You can include such logical definitions in your LOGIN.COM file so they are always defined.
7.1.13 Including a Personal "Signature"
Most mail users usually include a signature file at the end of all messages they send. This helps
better identify the person sending the message. Information included usually states the person's
name, their company, their e-mail address, and possibly a phone number. This is usually done as a
courtesy, so if someone wants to reply to your mail and can't, they can still reach you some way.
7.1.13.1 Signature Files
A signature file is a file that contains your name, E-mail address, and any other information that
you would like to have included in your outgoing mail messages. It should be no more than a few
lines long and should probably contain lines that do not exceed 80 characters in length. Two
examples of signature files are presented below. These are intended to serve only as examples of
signature files; feel free to design your own personal "signature."
This example shows a simple, to-the-point signature:
Cory --------- Cory Mackenson, WKU, mackenson@wku.edu, 502-555-2679
This second example provides more information and an amusing (?) quote at the end:
Herman Munster 1313 Mockingbird Lane Internet: munster@wku.edu Mockingbird Heights AT&T: 131-313-1313 "But, but, but Grandpa....." -- Herman Munster to Grandpa
$ DEFINE EVE_SIGNATURE device:[directory]name.type
For example, if you want to call your file SIGNATURE.TXT in your login directory, you would use a command like the following:
$ DEFINE EVE_SIGNATURE SYS$LOGIN:SIGNATURE.TXT
It is vital that you do not delete any of the MAIL$*.MAI files using the DCL command DELETE. Instead, the DELETE command inside of MAIL should be used. If you delete them from DCL, MAIL will not be able to locate the text for messages in MAIL.MAI. Note that the protection on these files is such that they cannot be deleted.
To help you manage your MAIL files, you should create a MAIL subdirectory; see Section
7.1.9.1 for instructions on creating a mail subdirectory.
7.2 Message Exchange (MX) Features in MAIL
Message Exchange (MX) is software that provides store-and-forward routing and delivery of
electronic mail messages. MX accepts messages from OpenVMS Mail and packages them into a
format suitable for sending to other systems. As mentioned before, MX handles all mail addressed
to MX%"address" and delivers all mail from BITNET/Internet sites.
The following sections describe features of MX that you may want to use. They are intended
either to simplify the use or increase the functionality of MAIL.
7.2.1 Addressing with MX
The main reason for using MX is to allow the sending of mail to Internet and BITNET addresses
properly. See Section 7.1.2 for a reminder on MX% addressing. You can include as many users as
you wish when addressing MX mail, even including different networks, as long as the addresses
are separated by a comma. For example, you could send the same message to
simmons@KISS.COM, alice@COOPER.BITNET, and SMITHJB by including the following line
in response to the To: prompt in OpenVMS Mail:
simmons@KISS.COM,alice@COOPER.BITNET,SMITHJB
$ DEFINE MX_VMSMAIL_SHOW_ADDR TRUE
If the logical is defined, MX displays the final address used for a given address:
MAIL> SEND To: JOE, MX-List@LISTS.WKU.EDU, SYSTEM MX rewrote alias JOE as <SYSTEM@WKU.EDU> MX rewrote MX-List@LISTS.WKU.EDU as <MX-List@LISTS.WKU.EDU> Subj: ....
Note that "SYSTEM" was not passed to MX because it is a local username. Also note that JOE had been defined as an alias equal to SYSTEM@WKU.EDU using the MXALIAS utility (described in Section 7.2.7).
Placing the MX_VMSMAIL_SHOW_ADDR logical definition in your LOGIN.COM will cause
MX to always show you all address translations.
7.2.1.2 Quotation Marks
OpenVMS Mail cannot handle quotation marks within an address. MX works around this
problem by substituting apostrophes instead. For example, if the destination address is
"node::user"@remote.host
you can specify this address in OpenVMS Mail as
MX%"'node::user'@remote.host"
$ MAILQUEUE
MAILQUEUE lists any messages you have sent that are waiting for network transfer. All
messages that cannot be sent are tried periodically, based on settings established by your system
manager. If the number of attempts exceeds the established limit, the message is returned to
sender with a message explaining why the transfer did not occur.
7.2.3 Displaying MX Informational Messages
If you want MX to display information messages indicating that your OpenVMS Mail message
has been successfully delivered to MX, you can define the logical
MX_VMSMAIL_SHOW_INFO as shown in the following command:
$ DEFINE MX_VMSMAIL_SHOW_INFO TRUE
If the logical is defined, MX displays a line like the following when the message has been queued to MX:
%MX-I-MAIDLVR, message (entry number 26) successfully delivered to MX
Placing the MX_VMSMAIL_SHOW_INFO logical definition in your LOGIN.COM will cause
MX to always display the informational messages.
7.2.4 MX Message Headers
When mail arrives via MX, you'll notice that there are a lot of extra lines of "garbage" at the top
of each message. The extra lines provide routing and tracing information that shows such
information as which systems the message passed through and who sent the message.
7.2.4.1 Message Header Format
Most network mail systems require or include more information about messages than OpenVMS
Mail can handle. MX, for example, follows the Internet message format standard, usually called
RFC 822, after the number of the document that describes the format.
When you receive a message via the Internet, you will see the RFC 822 header information, which is displayed as the first part of the message text. For an example of a mail message with its headers intact and a description of each line, see Example 7-8.
Example 7-8 Sample MX Mail Message
#149 9-AUG-1991 21:23:02.60 MAIL
From: LANSDALE@FRE.TOWSON.EDU
To: MCCAMMON
CC:
Subj: GNU
(1) Return-Path: <@AXP1.WKU.EDU:LANSDALE@FRE.TOWSON.EDU>
(2) Received: from SWANSONG.BITNET (MAILER) by AXP1 (MX V2.3-1) with
BSMTP; Fri, 09 Aug 1991 21:22:59 CDT
(3) Resent-Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1990 10:35:01 EST
Resent-From: mccammon@SWANSONG.BITNET
Resent-To: mccammon@AXP1.WKU.EDU
(4) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1991 22:16 EDT
(5) From: Joe Lansdale <LANSDALE@FRE.TOWSON.EDU>
(6) Reply-To: lansdale@fre.towson.edu
(7) Subject: GNU
(8) To: mccammon@WKU.EDU
(9) Message-ID: <1F3D8659606000C4@TOE.TOWSON.EDU>
This is a test....
MAIL>
In the sample message above, the first five lines are the OpenVMS Mail headers. The messages starts with the RFC 822 headers, followed by the message itself. The following sections explain the meanings of the RFC 822 headers.
MAIL> SEND To: MX%BOB Subj: ....
MX aliases are stored, by default, in a file called MX_ALIAS_DATABASE.DAT in your login directory (SYS$LOGIN:). You can define the MX_ALIAS_DATABASE logical in your LOGIN.COM to relocate the database file:
$ DEFINE MX_ALIAS_DATABASE dev:[user.MAIL]ALIASES.DAT
MXALIAS will automatically create the MX alias database the first time you add an alias definition.
When MXALIAS is invoked without any parameters on the DCL command, your are put into an interactive mode. The prompt is "MXalias>":
$ mxalias MXalias>
At the MXALIAS prompt, you can ADD aliases, MODIFY them, REMOVE them, and list them
using the DIRECTORY command. There is on-line help available by typing HELP at the
MXalias> prompt.
7.2.5.1 Adding an MX Alias
The MXALIAS command ADD is used to add an alias to the database. ADD takes three
parameters: the alias to define, the equivalent address, and an optional description for the alias.
The following example shows a typical definition:
MXalias> add joe "smith@somewhere.com" "Joe Smith, Somewhere, Inc." Added alias JOE to MX alias database MXalias>
The alias, JOE in the example above, can be a string of up to 20 alphanumeric characters (plus $, -, _, and .) that is equated with the given e-mail address. The alias is the address given to MX from the VMS Mail "To:" line using a format like MX%alias. All aliases are converted to uppercase.
The given address must be a valid address in the form "user@host". If the domain is omitted, it defaults to the local host (as defined by the MX_VMSMAIL_LOCALHOST logical). The maximum length of the address is 255 characters. If you want to preserve the case of an address, or if the address contains the "!" character, you must enclose the address in double-quotes.
The description is any quoted string of up to 255 characters. The description is displayed by the
DIRECTORY command; it is not included in the mail headers of the outgoing message.
7.2.5.2 Using an MX Alias
Once an MX alias has been added to the MX alias database, it can be used on the VMS Mail
"To:" line by simply prefixing the alias name with MX%. MX will check every address that does
not include the "@" character to see if it is an MX alias. For example, if JOE is defined as an alias,
the following "To:" line would be specified:
MAIL> SEND To: MX%JOE Subj: ....
Sending to "JOE@localhost" will prevent MX from performing the alias translation, in case
you want to send mail to a local user name JOE.
7.2.5.3 Displaying Aliases
The MXALIAS command DIRECTORY is used to display your defined aliases. By default, the
brief directory listing shows only the alias and the comment, if there is one:
MXalias> dir MX Alias Description ------------ ----------- JOE Joe Smith, Somewhere, Inc. MXalias>
Wildcards can be given to limit the display to aliases matching the given pattern. The DIRECTORY/FULL command can be used to show the equivalent e-mail addresses.
The /OUTPUT=file qualifier can be used to write the directory listing to a text file.
7.2.5.4 Modifying Aliases
The MODIFY command is used to modify an existing alias definition. It accepts the alias name as
a parameter and the qualifiers /ADDRESS and /DESCRIPTION. For example:
MXalias> MODIFY JOE/DESCRIPTION="Local system manager" Modified alias JOE MXalias>
MXalias> remove joe Remove JOE <SYSTEM@WKU.EDU> [N]? y Removed alias JOE MXalias>
You can supply the qualifier /NOCONFIRM to override the confirmation prompt.
7.3 Mailing Lists
Besides the ability to communicate one-on-one with users worldwide, there is a huge number of
mail-oriented discussion lists available for you to subscribe to covering just about any topic which
might interest you. When talking about electronic mail, the term mailing list is generally used to
describe an E-mail address that forwards messages to more than one user. Mailing lists abound on
the Internet and BITNET, on a wide variety of non-technical and technical topics (from a digest
of jokes to development of artificial intelligence). Most important, just about every computer
operating system and many of the popular packages run on these systems has a discussion list for
support, questions, and answers for subscribers. Network lists can be a very valuable resource.
Unfortunately, there are no standards on the implementation of mailing lists, so their use will vary depending on the systems on which the mailing lists are set up. For the most part however, mailing lists can be broken down into two basic types: Internet and BITNET.
Note: Use caution when subscribing to mailing lists. Some mailing lists generate literally hundreds of messages per day---sorting through them can be a time-consuming task. In addition, you may find your disk quota seriously overdrawn.
Note: Many mailing lists are gatewayed to USENET News groups. A gateway passes messages in both directions---a message posted to the newsgroup will also be posted to the mailing list, and vice versa. Please do not subscribe to mailing lists that are gatewayed to newsgroups; read them via NEWS instead. See Chapter 8 for information on NEWS.
As the networks have developed, various versions of LISTSERV have evolved. Table 7-4 lists some of the commands that most LISTSERV addresses will usually handle:
Table 7-4 Common LISTSERV Commands
| Command | Description |
| HELP | To retrieve a file of valid commands |
| SUBSCRIBE list-name | To be added to the list |
| SIGNOFF list-name | To be removed from the list |
| REVIEW list-name | To get a list of the subscribers |
Many LISTSERV sites support several more commands.
7.3.3 Internet-Style Lists
For an Internet-style mailing list, there are generally two addresses: one for the mailing list itself,
and one for "administrivia" (subscription requests, etc.). The administrative address is usually the
mailing list name with "-Request" added. For example, a mailing list for discussing music might
have an address like music@rock.roll.com. Subscription requests, removals, or comments about
the list would be sent to music-request@rock.roll.com.
Most Internet-style mailing lists are managed manually, so mail sent to "-Request" addresses can usually be free-form. However, a few systems, MX included, have mailing list handlers which process some types of requests automatically, without human intervention. The syntax of the commands you send to these automated handlers will vary from system to system. However, it is generally advisable to include messages which are brief and specific in nature to "-Request" addresses. It is highly recommended that your message to this address be something along the lines of:
SUBSCRIBE list-name
or:
SIGNOFF list-name
where "list-name" is replaced by the list's name. These requests should appear on the first line of
the message; if you wish to include more, it should be included on subsequent lines of your
message.
7.3.4 A Few Rules to Consider About Mailing Lists
Persons planning to subscribe or submit articles to a group need to consider a few things before
doing so. This will help you appear smarter and make the operations of the university appear
more organized.
As with mailing lists, there are no standards for file servers. There are several file server
implementations in existence: LISTSERV, VMSSERV, MAILSERV, and several others,
including WKU's own FILESERV. Some of these file servers accept commands via BITNET
immediate messages, some only by E-mail messages. Some take commands on the subject line of
a message, and some in the body of a message. The way files are distributed can also vary from
server to server.
7.3.5.1 Getting HELP
If you want to obtain files from a file server, and you are unsure of the commands you need to
use, you should begin by requesting help information from the server. The best way to do this is
to send an E-mail message to the file server's address with the word HELP on the subject line and
on the first and only line of the body of the message. Most servers will mail you back a message
listing the commands they accept and the format the commands should take, along with other
helpful information.
If you cannot get assistance from the file server itself, you may be able to get some from the
postmaster on the file server's system. Quite conveniently, most sites support an alias address,
Postmaster@host, which forwards mail to whoever is in charge of the network communications at
that site. Hence, the Postmaster address is a good one in most instances to use to contact that
person, if it is really necessary to do so.
7.4 Network Etiquette in OpenVMS Mail and on Mailing Lists
This chapter is largely borrowed from other network sources. Unfortunately, they are so widely
used that the original authors are no longer identifiable. The rules presented are only the basis of
things to consider, whether you are on a mailing list or in personal mail to another person.
Never Forget that the Person on the Other Side is Human!
Because your interaction with the network is through a computer it is easy to forget that there are people "out there." Situations arise where emotions erupt into a verbal free-for-all that can lead to hurt feelings.
Please remember that people all over the world are reading your words. Do not attack people if you cannot persuade them with your presentation of the facts. Screaming, cursing, and abusing others only serves to make people think less of you and less willing to help you when you need it.
If you are upset at something or someone, wait until you have had a chance to calm down and think about it. A cup of coffee or a good night's sleep works wonders on your perspective. Hasty words create more problems than they solve. Try not to say anything to others you would not say to them in person in a room full of people.
Be Careful What You Say About Others
Please remember --- you read network lists; so do as many as 250,000 other people. This group quite possibly includes your boss, your friend's boss, your girl friend's brother's best friend and one of your father's beer buddies. Information posted on the net can come back to haunt you or the person you are talking about.
Think twice before you post personal information about yourself or others. Even postings in groups like POLITICS have included information about the personal life of third parties that could get them into serious trouble if it got into the wrong hands.
Be Brief
Never say in ten words what you can say in fewer. Say it succinctly and it will have a greater impact. Remember that the longer you make your post, the fewer people will bother to read it.
Your Postings Reflect Upon You --- Be Proud of Them
Most people on the network will know you only by what you say and how well you say it. They may someday be your co-workers or friends. Take some time to make sure each posting is something that will not embarrass you later. Minimize your spelling errors and make sure that the post is easy to read and understand. Writing is an art and to do it well requires practice. Since much of how people judge you on the net is based on your writing, such time is well spent.
Use Descriptive Titles
The subject line of a post is there to enable a person with a limited amount of time to decide whether or not to read your post. Tell people what the post is about before they read it. A title like "Regression" to SAS-L does not help as much as "Autoregressive time series smoothing". Don't expect people to read your post to find out what it is about because many of them won't bother. Some sites truncate the length of the subject line to 40 characters so keep your subjects short and to the point.
Think About Your Audience
When you post, think about the people you are trying to reach. Asking SAS questions on INFO-VAX will not reach as many of the people you want to reach as if you asked them on SAS-L or STAT-L. Try to get the most appropriate audience for your message, not the widest.
Also, it is considered bad form to cross-post the same messages to many lists. If it belongs in that other list, it very probably does not belong in the other one. The variety of lists available allows for a very high degree of specialization on each list.
If you want to try a test of something, do not use a world-wide mail group! Messages in PACS-L that say "This is a test" are likely to cause large numbers of caustic messages to flow into your mailbox. Try and use local users or remote users who you are familiar with to test mail.
Be familiar with the group you are posting to before you post! You shouldn't post to groups you do not read, or post to groups you've only read a few posts from---you may not be familiar with the on-going conventions and themes of the group. One normally does not join a conversation by just walking up and talking. Instead, you listen first and then join in if you have something pertinent to contribute.
Be Careful with Humor and Sarcasm
Without the voice inflections and body language of personal communications, it is easy for a remark meant to be funny to be misinterpreted. Subtle humor tends to get lost, so take steps to make sure that people realize you are trying to be funny. The net has developed a symbol called the "smiley face." It looks like ":-)" and points out posts of articles with humorous intent. No matter how broad the humor or satire, it is safer to remind people that you are being funny.
But also be aware that quite frequently satire is posted without any explicit indications. If a post outrages you strongly, you should ask yourself if it just may have been unmarked satire. Several self-proclaimed connoisseurs refuse to use smiley faces, so take heed or you may make a temporary fool of yourself.
Only Post a Message Once
Avoid posting messages to more than one mailing list unless you are sure it is appropriate. If you do post to multiple lists, please do not post to each group separately. Instead, specify all the groups on a single copy of the message. This reduces network overhead and lets people who subscribe to more than one of those groups see the message once instead of having to wade through each copy.
Summarize What You are Following Up
When you are following up someone's post, please summarize the parts of the post to which you are responding. This allows readers to appreciate your comments rather than trying to remember what the original article said. It is also possible for your response to get to some sites before the original article.
Summarization is best done by including appropriate quotes from the original post. Do not include the entire article since it will irritate the people who have already seen it. Even if you are responding to the entire post, summarize only the major points you are discussing.
When Summarizing, Summarize!
When you request information from the network, it is common courtesy to report your findings so that others can benefit as well. The best way of doing this is to take all the responses that you received and edit them into a single message that is posted to the places where you originally posted your question. Take the time to strip headers, combine duplicate information, and write a short summary. Try to credit the information to the people that sent it to you, where possible.
Use Private Addresses When Answering as Much as Possible
One of the biggest problems we have on the network is that when someone asks a question, many people send out identical answers. When this happens, dozens of identical answers pour through the net. Mail your answer to the person and suggest that they summarize to the network. This way the net will only see a single copy of the answers, no matter how many people answer the question. Some lists are configured so that the Reply-To: address is back to the list. Check the message headers prior to using REPLY, especially if your reply is personal in nature or a note of thanks to an individual for their assistance.
If you post a question, please remind people to directly send you the answers by mail and offer to summarize them to the network.
Read All Follow-ups and Don't Repeat What Has Already Been Said
Before you submit a follow-up to a message, read the rest of the messages posted from the list to see whether someone has already said what you want to say. If someone has, don't repeat it.
Be Careful About Copyrights and Licenses
Once something is posted onto the network, it is probably in the public domain unless you own the appropriate rights (most notably, if you wrote the thing yourself) and you post it with a valid copyright notice; a court would have to decided the specifics and there are arguments for both sides of the issue. Now that the U.S. has ratified the Berne convention, the issue is even murkier. For all practical purposes, though, assume that you effectively give up the copyright if you don't put in a notice. Of course, the information becomes public, so you must not post trade secrets that way. When posting material to the network, keep in mind that material that is UNIX-related may be restricted by the license you or your company signed with AT&T and be careful not to violate it. You should also be aware that posting movie reviews, song lyrics, or anything else published under a copyright could cause you, the University, or the net itself to be held liable for damages, so we highly recommend caution in using this material.
Cite Appropriate References
If you are using facts to support a cause, state where they came from. Don't take someone else's ideas and use them as your own. You don't want someone pretending that your ideas are theirs; show them the same respect.
Don't Overdo Signatures
Signatures are nice, and Western Kentucky University users using EVE can have a signature added to their postings automatically (see Section 7.1.13.2 ). Don't overdo it. Signatures can tell the world something about you, but keep them short. A signature that is longer than the message itself is considered to be in bad taste. The main purpose of a signature is to help people locate you, not to tell your life story. Every signature should include at least your return address relative to a major, known site on the network and a proper network address.
Limit Line Length and Avoid Control Characters
Try to keep your text in a generic format. Many (if not most) of the people reading mail do so
from 80 column terminals or from workstations with 80 column terminal windows. Try to keep
your lines of text to less than 80 characters for optimal readability. Also realize that there are
many, many different forms of terminals in use. If you enter special control characters in your
message, it may result in your message being unreadable on some terminal types; a character
sequence that causes reverse video on your screen may result in a keyboard lock and graphics
mode on someone else's terminal. You should also try to avoid the use of tabs, too, since they
may also be interpreted differently on terminals other than your own.
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