Xref: utzoo comp.mail.headers:344 news.admin:2095
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!dik
From: dik@cwi.nl (Dik T. Winter)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.headers,news.admin
Subject: Re: Forwarded mail headers
Message-ID: <7544@boring.cwi.nl>
Date: 9 May 88 00:28:57 GMT
References: <13853@brl-adm.ARPA>
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 137

(The subject is quite apt.)
We (and probably everybody) received a number of articles in comp.mail.headers
a number of times.  The base article came here with the following paths in
the headers (split across lines for your edification):

1.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!osu-cis!n8emr!lwv

2.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!osu-cis!n8emr!
 >       lwv@TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU

3.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!osu-cis!n8emr!
 >       lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU@brl-adm.arpa

4.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       osu-cis!n8emr!lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

5.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!osu-cis!n8emr!
 >       lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

6.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!osu-cis!n8emr!
 >       lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@
 >       brl-adm.arpa

7.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!osu-cis!n8emr!
 >       lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

8.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!osu-cis!
 >       n8emr!lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

9.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       osu-cis!n8emr!lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

10.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       osu-cis!n8emr!lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@
 >       brl-adm.arpa

11.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       adm!osu-cis!n8emr!lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm
(Where is the final .arpa?  I cannot reply to this!)

12.
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       adm!adm!osu-cis!n8emr!lwv%TUT.CIS.OHIO-STATE.EDU%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%@BRL.ARPA
(A subtle variation.)

It is getting a bit repetitious, and not only in the header.
Without evidence to the contrary, I believe there is a problem at brl-adm.
Of course, the followup has undergone the same massaging, but the subject
changed too:

1.
 > Subject: \"forwarded mail format\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!
 >       jsol@bu-it.bu.edu

2.
 > Subject: \\"forwarded mail format\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!jsol%bu-it.bu.edu@brl-adm.arpa

3.
 > Subject: \\\"forwarded mail format\\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!jsol%bu-it.bu.edu%
 >       brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

4.
 > Subject: \\\\"forwarded mail format\\\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!jsol%bu-it.bu.edu%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

5.
 > Subject: \\\\\"forwarded mail format\\\\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!jsol%bu-it.bu.edu%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

6.
 > Subject: \\\\\\"forwarded mail format\\\\\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       adm!jsol%bu-it.bu.edu%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

7.
 > Subject: \\\\\\\"forwarded mail format\\\\\\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       jsol%bu-it.bu.edu%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

8.
 > Subject: \\\\\\\\"forwarded mail format\\\\\\\\"
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!umd5!brl-adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!adm!
 >       adm!adm!adm!jsol%bu-it.bu.edu%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%
 >       brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa%brl-adm.arpa@brl-adm.arpa

Until now we got only 8 of those; still more to come I believe.
Of course, this was not all; there was the standard message from some
postmaster who couldn't deliver his stuff and replied to the mailing list.
This one starts just drippling in; we only got 2:

1.
 > Subject: [postmaster@utadnx.cc.utexas.edu: Mail Delivery Problem]
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!jsol@bu-it.bu.edu
(Why this path?  I would expect it to come from postmaster.)

2.
 > Subject: [postmaster@utadnx.cc.utexas.edu: Mail Delivery Problem]
 > Path: mcvax!uunet!husc6!mailrus!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!adm!
 >       jsol%bu-it.bu.edu@brl-adm.arpa

Now I am waiting for some postmaster to think he cannot deliver this mail
from a postmaster, and sends back to the mailing list.
It looks like an explosion.
Is this an attempt to clutter up the network (something like a verification
of the load it can handle?).

(How many times will I see my article?)
-- 
dik t. winter, cwi, amsterdam, nederland
INTERNET   : dik@cwi.nl
BITNET/EARN: dik@mcvax