We're running a Sun4 (4.1) with UREP 3.5 and vmnet as a BITNET II host.
Our upstream BITNET node, through which all of our BITNET transactions
pass, is a VM host.
 
The problem:  BITNET mail sent from our site using BSMTP to the upstream
host seems to be seen by some destinations as containing two From: lines.
I've examined outgoing mail sitting in the queue;  the BSMTP envelopes and
DATA sections are in proper RFC 821 and 822 format:  One FROM: line in the
envelope and one From: line in the DATA section.  Yet somewhere down the
line it seems that something's getting changed so that subsequent hosts
see two RFC 822 (DATA) From: lines.  Most hosts seem to ignore this if it
occurs, but most if not all LISTSERV installations will reject mail of this
form, making listserver subscriptions and submissions impossible.
 
We've gotten around the problem by forwarding bitnet mail to the VM host
via SMTP, and leaving the outgoing BSMTP channel unused except for testing.
At one point, I sent out some test mail via BSMTP with "Sender:" substituted
for "From:" in the DATA section.  This made the listservers happy, but
raised havoc with some other remote machines, which were now complaining
about there being _NO_ RFC822 From: line!  It seems that we're sending out
mail that's technically in the proper format, but it's being misinterpreted
by some machines further down the line.
 
We do not now, and have not had in the past, this problem with Internet or
UUCP mail.  The problem doesn't appear to lie in our sendmail configuration.
 
I know of at least one other machine, a VAX running UREP under BSD 4.3,
which has been having the same problem.  Anyone know what's causing some
downstream BITNET hosts to think they're seeing two RFC822 From: lines?
 
Malcolm L. Carlock                      Internet:  [log in to unmask]
                                        UUCP:      unr!malc
                                        BITNET:    malc@equinox