Mail-11
Encyclopedia
Mail-11 was the native email transport protocol used by Digital Equipment Corporation
's VMS
operating system, and supported by several other DEC operating systems such as Ultrix
.
It normally used the DECnet
networking system as opposed to TCP/IP.
Similar to Internet SMTP based mail, Mail-11 mail had To: Cc: and Subj: headers
and date-stamped each message.
Mail-11 was one of the most widely used email systems of the 1980s, and was still in fairly wide use until as late as the mid-1990s. Messages from Mail-11 systems were frequently gatewayed out to SMTP, Usenet
, and Bitnet
systems, and thus are sometimes encountered browsing archives of those systems dating from when Mail-11 was in common use.
Several very large DECnet networks with Mail-11 service existed, most notably ENET, which was DEC's worldwide internal network. Another big user was HEPNET, a network for the high energy physics research community that linked many universities and research labs.
Mail-11 used two colons (::) rather than an at sign (@) to separate user and hostname,
and hostname came first.
A message to user HARKAWIK on a machine or cluster of machines called THEWAL.
Note that under VMS, usernames were not case-sensitive and were usually shown in uppercase,
but under Ultrix, usernames were case-sensitive, and most sites followed the unix convention of using lower case usernames. Names of machines on a DECnet network were not case-sensitive. Thus, the header above implies that the mail is going to a VMS system, but the one following implies the user is on a Unix system.
A message to user tabak on node DS5353. Probably an Ultrix system.
This message was sent to the gateway at DEC's Western Research Labs, one of DEC's main Internet gateways. From there, it was expected to travel via uucp, from host decvax to host peregrine to user dmi.
Since the timestamp is present, this must be a copy of a message that has already been sent, but since the From address is still in Mail-11 form, the text above must be copied from the local CC of the message rather than from the version that went through the gateway.
Unlike SMTP mail, mail readers did not support automatic signatures
; many users developed the habit of changing their personal name setting to be some interesting or amusing quotation.
The message is to be gatewayed to another network, in this case to the Internet SMTP protocol, and then delivered to the user president at the domain whitehouse.gov
The message has to go through two machines. First, it is given to the node HEPNET,
which then passes the machine to the node TUHEP, where it is then delivered to the user SLIWA.
Mail from user MCMAHON on a machine or cluster named TGV, that was passed out of an Internet SMTP gateway by yoyodyne.com. This is one form the header might take from the recipient's viewpoint.
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
's VMS
OpenVMS
OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
operating system, and supported by several other DEC operating systems such as Ultrix
Ultrix
Ultrix was the brand name of Digital Equipment Corporation's native Unix systems. While ultrix is the Latin word for avenger, the name was chosen solely for its sound.-History:...
.
It normally used the DECnet
DECnet
DECnet is a suite of network protocols created by Digital Equipment Corporation, originally released in 1975 in order to connect two PDP-11 minicomputers. It evolved into one of the first peer-to-peer network architectures, thus transforming DEC into a networking powerhouse in the 1980s...
networking system as opposed to TCP/IP.
Similar to Internet SMTP based mail, Mail-11 mail had To: Cc: and Subj: headers
and date-stamped each message.
Mail-11 was one of the most widely used email systems of the 1980s, and was still in fairly wide use until as late as the mid-1990s. Messages from Mail-11 systems were frequently gatewayed out to SMTP, Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
, and Bitnet
BITNET
BITNET was a cooperative USA university network founded in 1981 by Ira Fuchs at the City University of New York and Greydon Freeman at Yale University...
systems, and thus are sometimes encountered browsing archives of those systems dating from when Mail-11 was in common use.
Several very large DECnet networks with Mail-11 service existed, most notably ENET, which was DEC's worldwide internal network. Another big user was HEPNET, a network for the high energy physics research community that linked many universities and research labs.
Mail-11 used two colons (::) rather than an at sign (@) to separate user and hostname,
and hostname came first.
Some example headers
- To: THEWAL::HARKAWIK
A message to user HARKAWIK on a machine or cluster of machines called THEWAL.
Note that under VMS, usernames were not case-sensitive and were usually shown in uppercase,
but under Ultrix, usernames were case-sensitive, and most sites followed the unix convention of using lower case usernames. Names of machines on a DECnet network were not case-sensitive. Thus, the header above implies that the mail is going to a VMS system, but the one following implies the user is on a Unix system.
- To: DS5353::tabak
A message to user tabak on node DS5353. Probably an Ultrix system.
- From: GUESS::YERAZUNIS "it's.. it's DIP !" 21-SEP-1989 10:28:38.87
- To: DECWRL::"decvax!peregrine!dmi"
- CC: YERAZUNIS
This message was sent to the gateway at DEC's Western Research Labs, one of DEC's main Internet gateways. From there, it was expected to travel via uucp, from host decvax to host peregrine to user dmi.
Since the timestamp is present, this must be a copy of a message that has already been sent, but since the From address is still in Mail-11 form, the text above must be copied from the local CC of the message rather than from the version that went through the gateway.
Unlike SMTP mail, mail readers did not support automatic signatures
Signature block
A signature block is a block of text automatically appended at the bottom of an e-mail message, Usenet article, or forum post. This has the effect of "signing off" the message and in a reply message of indicating that no more response follows...
; many users developed the habit of changing their personal name setting to be some interesting or amusing quotation.
- To: IN%"president@whitehouse.gov"
The message is to be gatewayed to another network, in this case to the Internet SMTP protocol, and then delivered to the user president at the domain whitehouse.gov
- To: HEPNET::TUHEP::SLIWA
The message has to go through two machines. First, it is given to the node HEPNET,
which then passes the machine to the node TUHEP, where it is then delivered to the user SLIWA.
- From: "TGV::MCMAHON"@yoyodyne.com
Mail from user MCMAHON on a machine or cluster named TGV, that was passed out of an Internet SMTP gateway by yoyodyne.com. This is one form the header might take from the recipient's viewpoint.