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Re: unquoted period in display-name in address field?


From: David Levine
Subject: Re: unquoted period in display-name in address field?
Date: Sun, 2 May 2021 16:06:34 -0500

Greg wrote:

> i occasionally get e-mail messages to which i can't just reply, because
> i get an error
> ----
> post: no at-sign after local-part (<) gre.minshall <minshall@umich.edu>: 
> Success, continuing...
> ----

The nmh address parser seems to handle that address if you insert a
space after the period, if that helps.

> today, i looked at the newer rfc5322.  if i'm reading it correctly, it
> appears that the term "obs-phrase" (which is produced by "phrase', if
> i'm using "produced" in the right sense; phrase is produced by
> display-name), "suddenly" (well, at least since rfc2822, circa 2020)
> allows unquoted periods.

Right (in incoming, but not newly created, messages).  This note in
RFC 5322 Sec 4.1 is kinda interesting, esp. in light of the comment
below:

    Note: The "period" (or "full stop") character (".") in obs-phrase
    is not a form that was allowed in earlier versions of this or any
    other specification.

> if that's the case.  is post then not obeying the spec?  or, am i
> configuring something incorrectly?

You're right, post doesn't obey the spec.  The relevant MH/nmh code is
in sbr/mf.c, which has this comment near the top:

 * We should not allow addresses like   
 *
 *              Marshall T. Rose <MRose@UCI>
 *
 * but should insist on
 *
 *              "Marshall T. Rose" <MRose@UCI>
 *
 * Unfortunately, a lot of mailers stupidly let people get away with

It's been that way since at least January 1990.  I'm reluctant to
touch that code.  If anyone is, it might be a useful project.

Coincidentally, I added an RFC 5322 address parser on a branch today,
in docs/contrib/ (not for integration into nmh proper).  It doesn't
currently handle obs-phrase.

David



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