From: ghio@cmu.edu (Matthew Ghio)
Date: Fri, 3 Jun 94 00:55:50 PDT
Subject: Re: Mailer questions
Message-ID: <9406030754.AA02490@toad.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


nobody@shell.portal.com wrote:
 
> I have a few questions about the Cypherpunk remailers that
> hopefully someone can answer for me:
>
> What is the maximum length of a "Request-Remailing-To:" header?
 
Generally, as much as you can fit on the line.  If you're running out
of space in your particular mail editor, try using "Anon-To:" instead.
 
> Can several of them be inserted for lengthy lists?
 
If you mean chaining remailers, then yes.  If you mean the ability
to send to multiple recipients, then no.  Most remailers don't
allow multiple recipients.  This is due to our friend Detweiler
who likes to experiment with exponential growth phenomena.
 
> Regarding the "mail-to-Usenet" posting gateways, where you
> typically replace the dots in newsgroup names with hyphens,
> what about groups that have hyphens in their names?  Can the
> posting software tell the hyphens apart?
 
Obviously you have not read my info file on the remailers.
Finger remailer-list@chaos.bsu.edu or send mail to
mg5n+remailers@andrew.cmu.edu   It lists many mail-to-usenet
gateways which will accept dots.
 
> I understand that several of the headers can be changed by using
> a "##" token instead of "::".  Which ones can be changed and
> which ones can't?
 
When headers follow a ## token, they are simply added into the
output file without any processing.  Headers following the ::
token are processed as commands in normal headers.
 
This seems to have caused some confusion with respect to the
Subject: header.  Most remailers pass the subject header unaltered.
If there is a subject header following the :: token, it will be
treated as if it were a normal header, and passed thru to the
outgoing message.  A subject can also be added (like any other header)
following the ## token.  However, if you have a subject line in
the headers, and another following the ## token, the original subject
gets passed thru, and the second one then gets appended, resulting
in both Subject lines being present in the output file.
 
My remailer (ghio@kaiwan.com) will strip out a blank subject line,
so that you can insert one with the ## if you wish.  I think
Hal Finney's remailer is set up the same way.  Chael Hall's remailers
(bsu.edu) always remove the subject line, so you must insert it
with the ## header if you want one.
 
> Has anyone had any experience chaining from a Cypherpunk-style
> remailer to anon.penet.fi?  Can a "::" separator be used
> successfully, or which format will work?
 
I think it can be done...