27 Apr
1998
27 Apr
'98
3:28 p.m.
"KM" == Ken Manheimer <klm@cnri.reston.va.us> writes:
KM> While i'm inclined to agree about the list-of-known-domains KM> check being too maintenance intensive, i do see a reason to KM> have the check in the first place. The benefit comes into KM> play when the web interface is in play - the user is there, KM> and can get definite feedback about faulty addresses. Without KM> it, they only see address failures as the absence of any KM> subscription confirmation - a decidedly vague and uncertain KM> kind of feedback.Couldn't we do the same sort of DNS lookup when the form is submitted?
Well, you can, but that would have a few problems of its own:
DNS lookup can be slow. People want instant feedback.
Sometimes DNS is flakey, and you might reject a perfectly valid email address. Sendmail will just keep it in a queue and try again periodically, so if it is a transient problem, then no problem.
I would say that perhaps the list of domains *should* stay, but not be a requirement. How about, the list gets checked, and gives you a warning but not a fatal error if your address doesn't have one of the listed endings?