Table of Contents
mail, Mail - read or send mail messages
Mail [ -deHinNUv ] [ -f [ filename | +folder ] ] [ -T file ]
[ -u user ]
Mail [ -dFinUv ] [ -h number ] [ -r address ] [ -s subject ]
recipient ...
/usr/ucb/mail ...
mail is a comfortable, flexible, interactive program for
composing, sending and receiving electronic messages. While
reading messages, mail provides you with commands to browse,
display, save, delete, and respond to messages. While sending
mail, mail allows editing and reviewing of messages
being composed, and the inclusion of text from files or
other messages.
Incoming mail is stored in the system mailbox for each user.
This is a file named after the user in /var/spool/mail.
mail normally looks in this file for incoming messages, but
you can use the MAIL environment variable to have it look in
a different file. When you read a message, it is marked to
be moved to a secondary file for storage. This secondary
file, called the mbox, is normally the file mbox in your
home directory. This file can also be changed by setting the
MBOX environment variable. Messages remain in the mbox file
until deliberately removed.
If no recipient is specified, mail attempts to read messages
from the system mailbox.
- -d
- Turn on debugging output. (Neither particularly
interesting nor recommended.)
- -e
- Test for presence of mail. If there is no
mail, mail prints nothing and exits (with a
successful return code).
- -F
- Record the message in a file named after the
first recipient. Override the record variable,
if set.
- -H
- Print header summary only.
- -i
- Ignore interrupts (as with the ignore variable).
- -n
- Do not initialize from the system default
Mail.rc file.
- -N
- Do not print initial header summary.
- -U
- Convert uucp style addresses to Internet standards.
Overrides the conv environment variable.
- -v
- Pass the -v flag to sendmail(8).
- -f [filename] Read messages from filename instead of
- system
mailbox. If no filename is specified, the
mbox is used.
- -f +folder
- Use the file folder in the folder directory
(same as the folder command). The name of
this directory is listed in the folder variable.
- -h number
- The number of network "hops" made so far.
This is provided for network software to avoid
infinite delivery loops.
- -r address
- Pass address to network delivery software.
All tilde (~) commands are disabled.
- -s subject
- Set the Subject header field to subject.
- -T file
- Print the contents of the article-id fields of
all messages that were read or deleted on file
(for the use of network news programs if
available).
- -u user
- Read user's system mailbox. This is only
effective if user's system mailbox is not read
protected.
Refer to Getting Started for tutorial information about
mail.
Starting Mail
As it starts, mail reads commands from a system-wide file
(/usr/lib/Mail.rc) to initialize certain variables, then it
reads from a private start-up file called the .mailrc file
(it is normally the file .mailrc in your home directory, but
can be changed by setting the MAILRC environment variable)
for your personal commands and variable settings. Most mail
commands are legal inside start-up files. The most common
uses for this file are to set up initial display options and
alias lists. The following commands are not legal in the
start-up file: !, Copy, edit, followup, Followup, hold,
mail, preserve, reply, Reply, replyall, replysender, shell,
and visual. Any errors in the start-up file cause the
remaining lines in that file to be ignored.
You can use the mail command to send a message directly by
including names of recipients as arguments on the command
line. When no recipients appear on the mail command line,
it enters command mode, from which you can read messages
sent to you. If you list no recipients and have no messages,
mail prints the message: `No mail for username' and
exits.
When in command mode (while reading messages), you can send
messages using the mail command.
Sending Mail
While you are composing a message to send, mail is in input
mode. If no subject is specified as an argument to the command
a prompt for the subject is printed. After entering the
subject line, mail enters input mode to accept the text of
your message to send.
As you type in the message, mail stores it in a temporary
file. To review or modify the message, enter the appropriate
tilde escapes, listed below, at the beginning of an
input line.
To indicate that the message is ready to send, type a dot
(or EOF character, normally CTRL-D ) on a line by itself.
mail submits the message to sendmail(8) for routing to each
recipient.
Recipients can be;
- local usernames
-
- Internet addresses of the form:
-
name@domain
- uucp(1C) addresses of the form:
-
[host!...host!]host!username
- filenames for which you have write permission
-
- alias groups
-
If the name of the recipient begins with a pipe symbol (|),
the remainder of the name is taken as a shell command to
pipe the message through. This provides an automatic
interface with any program that reads the standard input,
such as lpr(1) to record outgoing mail on paper. An alias
group is the name of a list of recipients that is set by the
alias command, taken from the host's /etc/aliases file, or
taken from the Network Information Service (NIS) aliases
domain. See aliases(5) for more information about mail
addresses and aliases.
Tilde Escapes
The following tilde escape commands can be used when composing
messages to send. Each must appear at the beginning of
an input line. The escape character (~), can be changed by
setting a new value for the escape variable. The escape
character can be entered as text by typing it twice.
~! [shell-command]
Escape to the shell. If present, run shell-command.
~. Simulate EOF (terminate message input).
~: mail-command
~_ mail-command
Perform the indicated mail command. Valid only when
sending a message while reading mail.
- ~?
- Print a summary of tilde escapes.
- ~A
- Insert the autograph string Sign into the message.
- ~a
- Insert the autograph string sign into the message.
~b name ...
Add the names to the blind carbon copy (Bcc) list.
This is like the carbon copy (Cc) list, except that the
names in the Bcc list are not shown in the header of
the mail message.
~c name ...
Add the names to the carbon copy (Cc) list.
~d Read in the dead.letter file. The name of this file is
listed in the variable DEAD.
~e Invoke the editor to edit the message. The name of the
editor is listed in the EDITOR variable. The default
editor is ex(1).
~f [message-list]
Forward the listed messages, or the current message
being read. Valid only when sending a message while
reading mail; the messages are inserted without alteration
(as opposed to the ~m escape).
~h Prompt for the message header lines: Subject, To, Cc,
and Bcc. If the header line contains text, you can
edit the text by backspacing over it and retyping.
~i variable
Insert the value of the named variable into the message.
~m [message-list]
Insert text from the specified messages, or the current
message, into the letter. Valid only when sending a
message while reading mail; the text the message is
shifted to the right, and the string contained in the
indentprefix variable is inserted as the leftmost characters
of each line. If indentprefix is not set, a TAB
character is inserted into each line.
- ~p
- Print the message being entered.
~q Quit from input mode by simulating an interrupt. If
the body of the message is not empty, the partial message
is saved in the dead.letter file.
~r filename
~< filename
~<! shell-command
Read in text from the specified file or the standard
output of the specified shell-command.
~s subject
Set the subject line to subject.
~t name ...
Add each name to the list of recipients.
~v Invoke a visual editor to edit the message. The name
of the editor is listed in the VISUAL variable. The
default visual editor is vi(1).
~w filename
Write the message text onto the given file, without the
header.
~x Exit as with ~q but do not save the message in the
dead.letter file.
~| shell-command
Pipe the body of the message through the given shellcommand.
If shell-command returns a successful exit
status, the output of the command replaces the message.
Reading Mail
When you enter command mode in order to read your messages,
mail displays a header summary of the first several messages,
followed by a prompt for one of the commands listed
below. The default prompt is the & (ampersand character).
Message are listed and referred to by number. There is, at
any time, a current message, which is marked by a > in the
header summary. For commands that take an optional list of
messages, if you omit a message number as an argument, the
command applies to the current message.
A message-list is a list of message specifications,
separated by SPACE characters, which may include:
- .
- The current message.
- n
- Message number n.
- ^
- The first undeleted message.
- $
- The last message.
- +
- The next undeleted message.
- -
- The previous undeleted message.
- *
- All messages.
n-m An inclusive range of message numbers.
user All messages from user.
/string
All messages with string in the subject line (case
ignored).
- :c
- All messages of type c, where c is one of:
- d
- deleted messages
- n
- new messages
- o
- old messages
- r
- read messages
- u
- unread messages
Note: the context of the command determines
whether this type of message specification makes
sense.
Additional arguments are treated as strings whose usage
depends on the command involved. Filenames, where expected,
are expanded using the normal shell filename-substitution
mechanism.
Special characters, recognized by certain commands, are
documented with those commands.
Commands
While in command mode, if you type in an empty command line
(a RETURN or NEWLINE only), the print command is assumed.
The following is a complete list of mail commands:
! shell-command Escape to the shell. The name of the
shell to use is listed in the SHELL
variable.
- # arguments
- Null command. This may be used as if it
were a comment in .mailrc files, but note
that it must be separated from its arguments
(commentary) by white space.
- =
- Print the current message number.
- ?
- Print a summary of commands.
alias [alias recipient...]
group [alias recipient...]
Declare an alias for the given list of
recipients. The list will be substituted
when the alias is used as a recipient
while sending mail. When put in the
.mailrc file, this command provides you
with a record of the alias. With no arguments,
the command displays the list of
defined aliases.
alternates name ...
Declare a list of alternate names for your
login. When responding to a message,
these names are removed from the list of
recipients for the response. With no
arguments, alternates prints the current
list of alternate names.
cd[ directory]
chdir [directory] Change directory. If directory is not
specified, $HOME is used.
copy [message-list] [filename]
Copy messages to the file without marking
the messages as saved. Otherwise
equivalent to the save command.
Copy [message-list]
Save the specified messages in a file
whose name is derived from the author of
the message to be saved, without marking
the messages as saved. Otherwise
equivalent to the Save command.
delete [message-list]
Delete messages from the system mailbox.
If the variable autoprint is set, print
the message following the last message
deleted.
discard [header-field...]
ignore [header-field...]
Suppress printing of the specified header
fields when displaying messages on the
screen, such as "Status" and "Received".
The fields are included when the message
is saved unless the variable alwaysignore
is set. The Print and Type commands
display all header fields, ignored or not.
dp [message-list]
dt [message-list]
Delete the specified messages from the
system mailbox, and print the message
after the last one deleted. Equivalent to
a delete command followed by a print command.
echo [string ...] Echo the given strings (like echo(1V)).
edit [message-list]
Edit the given messages. The messages are
placed in a temporary file and the EDITOR
variable is used to get the name of the
editor. The default editor is ex(1).
exit
- xit
- Exit from mail without changing the system
mailbox. No messages are saved in the
mbox (see also quit).
file [filename]
folder [filename] Quit from the current mailbox file and
read in the named mailbox file. Several
special characters are recognized when
used as file names:
- %
- Your system mailbox.
- %user
- The system mailbox for
user.
- #
- The previous mail file.
- &
- Your mbox file (of messages
previously read).
+filename The named file in the
folder directory (listed in
the folder variable).
With no arguments, file prints the name of
the current mail file, and the number of
messages and characters it contains.
- folders
- Print the name of each mail file in the
folder directory (listed in the folder
variable).
followup [message]
Respond to a message, recording the
response in a file, name of which is
derived from the author of the message
(overrides the record variable, if set).
See also the Followup, Save, and Copy commands
and the outfolder variable.
Followup [message-list]
Respond to the first message in the message
list, sending the message to the
author of each message in the list. The
subject line is taken from the first message,
and the response is recorded in a
file, the name of which is derived from
the author of the first message (overrides
the record variable, if set). See also
the followup, Save, and Copy commands and
the outfolder variable.
from [message-list]
Print the header summary for the indicated
messages or the current message.
group alias name ...
Same as the alias command.
headers [message] Print the page of headers that includes
the message specified, or the current message.
The screen variable sets the number
of headers per page. See also the z command.
- help
- Print a summary of commands.
hold [message-list]
preserve [message-list]
Hold the specified messages in the system
mailbox.
if s|r|t
mail-command
...
else
mail-command
...
- endif
- Conditional execution, where s will execute
following mail-command up to an else
or endif, if the program is in send mode,
r executes the mail-command only in
receive mode, and t executes the mailcommand
only if mail is being run from a
terminal. Useful primarily in the .mailrc
file.
ignore [header-field...]
Same as the discard command.
- inc
- Incorporate messages that arrive while you
are reading the system mailbox. The new
messages are added to the message list in
the current mail session. This command
does not commit changes made during the
session, and prior messages are not renumbered.
- list
- Prints all commands available. No explanation
is given.
load [message] filename
Load the specified message from the name
file. filename should contain a single
mail message including mail headers (as
saved by the save command).
mail recipient ...
Mail a message to the specified recipients.
mbox [message-list]
Arrange for the given messages to end up
in the standard mbox file when mail terminates
normally. See also the exit and
quit commands.
new [message-list]
New [message-list]
unread [message-list]
Unread [message-list]
Take a message list and mark each message
as not having been read.
- next message Go to next message matching message. A
-
message-list can be given instead of mes_sage,
but only first valid message in the
list is used. (This can be used, for
instance, to jump to the next message from
a specific user.)
pipe [message-list] [shell-command]
| [message-list] [shell-command]
Pipe the message through shell-command.
The message is treated marked as read (and
normally saved to the mbox file when mail
exits). If no arguments are given, the
current message is piped through the command
specified by the value of the cmd
variable. If the page variable is set, a
form feed character is inserted after each
message.
preserve [message-list]
Same as the hold command.
print [message-list]
type [message-list]
Print the specified messages. If the crt
variable is set, messages longer than the
number of lines it indicates paged through
the command specified by the PAGER variable.
The default paging command is
more(1).
Print [message-list]
Type [message-list]
Print the specified messages on the
screen, including all header fields.
Overrides suppression of fields by the
ignore and retain commands.
- quit
- Exit from mail storing messages that were
read in the mbox file and unread messages
in the system mailbox. Messages that have
been explicitly saved in a file are
deleted unless the variable keepsave is
set.
reply [message-list]
respond [message-list]
replysender [message-list]
Send a response to the author of each message
in the message-list. The subject
line is taken from the first message. If
record is set to a filename, a copy of the
reply is added to that file. If the
replyall variable is set, the actions of
Reply/Respond and reply/respond are
reversed. The replysender command is not
affected by the replyall variable, but
sends each reply only to the sender of
each message.
Reply [message]
Respond [message]
replyall [message]
Reply to the specified message, including
all other recipients of that message. If
the variable record is set to a filename,
a copy of the reply added to that file.
If the replyall variable is set, the
actions of Reply/Respond and reply/respond
are reversed. The replyall command is not
affected by the replyall variable, but
always sends the reply to all recipients
of the message.
- retain
- Add the list of header fields named to the
retained list. Only the header fields in
the retain list are shown on your terminal
when you print a message. All other
header fields are suppressed. The set of
retained fields specified by the retain
command overrides any list of ignored
fields specified by the ignore command.
The Type and Print commands can be used to
print a message in its entirety. If
retain is executed with no arguments, it
lists the current set of retained fields.
save [message-list] [filename]
Save the specified messages in the named
file. The file is created if it does not
exist. If no filename is specified, the
file named in the MBOX variable is used,
mbox in your home directory by default.
Each saved message is deleted from the
system mailbox when mail terminates unless
the keepsave variable is set. See also
the exit and quit commands.
Save [message-list]
Save the specified messages in a file
whose name is derived from the author of
the first message. The name of the file
is taken from the author's name, with all
network addressing stripped off. See also
the Copy, followup, and Followup commands
and the outfolder variables.
set [variable[=value]]
Define a variable. To assign a value to
variable, separate the variable name from
the value by an `=' (there must be no
space before or after the `='). A
variable may be given a null, string, or
numeric value. To embed SPACE characters
within a value enclose it in quotes.
With no arguments, set displays all
defined variables and any values they
might have. See Variables for a description
of all predefined mail variables.
- shell
- Invoke the interactive shell listed in the
SHELL variable.
size [message-list]
Print the size in characters of the specified
messages.
source filename Read commands from the given file and
return to command mode.
top [message-list]
Print the top few lines of the specified
messages. If the toplines variable is
set, it is taken as the number of lines to
print. The default number is 5.
touch [message-list]
Touch the specified messages. If any message
in message-list is not specifically
saved in a file, it will be placed in the
mbox upon normal termination. See also
the exit and quit commands.
type [message-list]
Same as the print command.
Type [message-list]
Same as the Print command.
undelete [message-list]
Restore deleted messages. This command
only restores messages deleted in the
current mail session. If the autoprint
variable is set, the last message restored
is printed.
unread [message-list]
Unread [message-list]
Same as the new command.
unset variable ...
Erase the specified variables. If the
variable was imported from the environment
(that is, an environment variable or
exported shell variable), it cannot be
unset from within mail.
- version
- Print the current version and release date
of the mail utility.
visual [message-list]
Edit the given messages with the screen
editor listed in the VISUAL variable. The
default screen editor is vi(1). Each message
is placed in a temporary file for
editing.
write [message-list] [filename]
Write the given messages onto the specified
file, but without the header and
trailing blank line. Otherwise, this is
equivalent to the save command.
- xit
- Same as the exit command.
- z[+|-]
- Scroll the header display forward (+) or
backward (-) one screenfull. The number
of headers displayed is set by the screen
variable.
Forwarding Messages
To forward a specific message, include it in a message to
the desired recipients with the ~f or ~m tilde escapes. To
forward mail automatically, add a comma-separated list of
addresses for additional recipients to the .forward file in
your home directory. This is different from the format of
the alias command, which takes a space-separated list
instead. Note: forwarding addresses must be valid (as
described in aliases(5)), or the messages will "bounce."
You cannot, for instance, reroute your mail to a new host by
forwarding it to your new address if it is not yet listed in
the NIS aliases domain.
Variables
The behavior of mail is governed by a set of predefined
variables that are set and cleared using the set and unset
commands.
Environment Variables
Values for the following variables are read in automatically
from the environment; they cannot be altered from within
mail:
HOME=directory
The user's home directory.
MAIL=filename
The name of the initial mailbox file to read
(in lieu of the standard system mailbox). The
default is /var/spool/mail/username.
MAILRC=filename
The name of the personal start-up file. The
default is $HOME/.mailrc.
Mail Variables
The following variables can be initialized within the
.mailrc file, or set and altered interactively using the set
command. They can also be imported from the environment (in
which case their values cannot be changed within mail). The
unset command clears variables. The set command can also be
used to clear a variable by prefixing the word no to the
name of the variable to clear.
Variables for which values are normally supplied are indicated
with an equal-sign (=). The equal-sign is required by
the set command, and there can be no spaces between the
variable-name, equal-sign, and value, using set to assign a
value.
- allnet
- All network names whose last component (login
name) match are treated as identical. This
causes the message list specifications to
behave similarly. Default is noallnet. See
also the alternates command and the metoo
variable.
alwaysignore Ignore header fields with ignore everywhere,
not just during print or type. Affects the
save, Save, copy, Copy, top, pipe, and write
commands, and the ~m and ~f tilde escapes.
- append
- Upon termination, append messages to the end
of the mbox file instead of prepending them.
Default is noappend but append is set in the
global start-up file (which can be suppressed
with the -n command line option).
- askcc
- Prompt for the Cc list after message is
entered. Default is noaskcc.
- asksub
- Prompt for subject if it is not specified on
the command line with the -s option. Enabled
by default.
- autoprint
- Enable automatic printing of messages after
delete and undelete commands. Default is
noautoprint.
- bang
- Enable the special-casing of exclamation
points (!) in shell escape command lines as in
vi(1). Default is nobang.
cmd=shell-command
Set the default command for the pipe command.
No default value.
conv=conversion
Convert uucp addresses to the address style
specified by conversion, which can be either:
internet
This requires a mail delivery program
conforming to the RFC822 standard for
electronic mail addressing.
optimize
Remove loops in uucp(1C) address paths
(typically generated by the reply command).
No rerouting is performed; mail
has no knowledge of UUCP routes or connections.
Conversion is disabled by default. See also
sendmail(8) and the -U command line option.
- crt=number
- Pipe messages having more than number lines
through the command specified by the value of
the PAGER variable (more by default). Disabled
by default.
DEAD=filename
The name of the file in which to save partial
letters in case of untimely interrupt or
delivery errors. Default is the file
dead.letter in your home directory.
- debug
- Enable verbose diagnostics for debugging.
Messages are not delivered. Default is nodebug.
- dot
- Take a period on a line by itself during input
from a terminal as EOF. Default is nodot but
dot is set in the global start-up file (which
can be suppressed with the -n command line
option).
editheaders Include message headers in the text to be
edited by the ~e and ~v commands.
EDITOR=shell-command
The command to run when the edit or ~e command
is used. Default is ex(1).
- escape=c
- Substitute c for the ~ escape character.
folder=directory
The directory for saving standard mail files.
User specified file names beginning with a
plus (+) are expanded by preceding the
filename with this directory name to obtain
the real filename. If directory does not
start with a slash (/), the value of HOME is
prepended to it. There is no default for the
folder variable. See also outfolder below.
- header
- Enable printing of the header summary when
entering mail. Enabled by default.
- hold
- Preserve all messages that are read in the
system mailbox instead of putting them in the
standard mbox save file. Default is nohold
for mail and hold for mailtool(1).
- ignore
- Ignore interrupts while entering messages.
Handy for noisy dial-up lines. Default is
noignore.
- ignoreeof
- Ignore EOF during message input. Input must
be terminated by a period (`.') on a line by
itself or by the `~.' command. Default is
noignoreeof. See also dot above.
indentprefix=string
When indentprefix is set, string is used to
mark indented lines from messages included
with ~m. The default is a TAB character.
- keep
- When the system mailbox is empty, truncate it
to zero length instead of removing it. Disabled
by default.
- keepsave
- Keep messages that have been saved in other
files in the system mailbox instead of deleting
them. Default is nokeepsave.
LISTER=shell-command
The command (and options) to use when listing
the files in the folder directory. The
default is ls(1V).
MBOX=filename
The name of the file to save messages which
have been read. The xit command overrides
this variable, as does saving the message
explicitly to another file. Default is the
file mbox in your home directory.
- metoo
- If your login appears as a recipient, do not
delete it from the list. Default is nometoo.
- no
- When used as a prefix to a variable name, has
the effect of unsetting the variable.
- onehop
- When responding to a message that was originally
sent to several recipients, the other
recipient addresses are normally forced to be
relative to the originating author's machine
for the response. This flag disables alteration
of the recipients' addresses, improving
efficiency in a network where all machines can
send directly to all other machines (that is,
one "hop" away).
- outfolder
- Locate the files used to record outgoing messages
in the directory specified by the folder
variable unless the pathname is absolute.
Default is nooutfolder. See folder above and
the Save, Copy, followup, and Followup commands.
- page
- Used with the pipe command to insert a form
feed after each message sent through the pipe.
Default is nopage.
PAGER=shell-command
The command to use as a filter for paginating
output, along with any options to be used.
Default is more(1).
prompt=string Set the command mode prompt to string.
Default is `&'.
- quiet
- Refrain from printing the opening message and
version when entering mail. Default is
noquiet.
record=filename
Record all outgoing mail in filename. Disabled
by default. See also the variable outfolder.
- replyall
- Reverse the effect of the reply and Reply
commands.
- save
- Enable saving of messages in the dead.letter
file on interrupt or delivery error. See DEAD
for a description of this file. Enabled by
default.
screen=number Set the number of lines in a screen-full of
headers for the headers command.
sendmail=shell-command
Alternate command for delivering messages.
Note: in addition to the expected list of
recipients, mail also passes the -i and -m,
flags to the command. Since these flags are
not appropriate to other commands, you may
have to use a shell script that strips them
from the arguments list before invoking the
desired command.
- sendwait
- Wait for background mailer to finish before
returning. Default is nosendwait.
SHELL=shell-command
The name of a preferred command interpreter.
Typically inherited from the environment, the
shell is normally the one you always use.
Otherwise defaults to sh(1).
- showto
- When displaying the header summary and the
message is from you, print the recipient's
name instead of the author's name.
sign=autograph
The autograph text inserted into the message
when the ~a (autograph) command is given. No
default (see also the ~i tilde escape).
Sign=autograph
The autograph text inserted into the message
when the ~A command is given. No default (see
also the ~i tilde escape).
toplines=number
The number of lines of header to print with
the top command. Default is 5.
- verbose
- Invoke sendmail with the -v flag.
VISUAL=shell-command
The name of a preferred screen editor.
Default is vi.
- $HOME/.mailrc
- personal start-up file
- $HOME/.forward
- list of recipients for automatic forwarding
of messages
- $HOME/mbox
- secondary storage file
- $HOME/dead.letter
- undeliverable messages file
- /var/spool/mail
- directory for system mailboxes
/usr/lib/Mail.help* help message files
- /usr/lib/Mail.rc
- global start-up file
- /tmp/R[emqsx]*
- temporary files
biff(1), bin-mail(1), echo(1V), ex(1), fmt(1), ls(1V), mailtool(1),
more(1), sh(1), uucp(1C), vacation(1), vi(1),
aliases(5), newaliases(8), sendmail(8)
Getting Started
mail is found in /usr/ucb/Mail, as a link to /usr/ucb/mail.
If you wish to use the original (version 7) UNIX mail program,
you can find it in /usr/bin/mail. Its man page is
named bin-mail(1).
Where shell-command is shown as valid, arguments are not
always allowed. Experimentation is recommended.
Internal variables imported from the execution environment
cannot be unset.
Replies do not always generate correct return addresses.
Try resending the errant reply with onehop set.
mail does not lock your record file. So, if you use a
record file and send two or more messages simultaneously,
lines from the messages may be interleaved in the record
file.
The format for the alias command is a space-separated list
of recipients, while the format for an alias in either the
.forward or /etc/aliases is a comma-separated list.
The Network Information Service (NIS) was formerly known as
Sun Yellow Pages (YP). The functionality of the two remains
the same; only the name has changed.
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