e-mail Glossary

Last Update 1999-02-28

Sorry, this is incomplete. Does anyone have a better reference list?

LHS: Left Hand Side
this refers to the left part of entries in maps or rulesets.
MHS: Message Handling System
A message handling system is the compound of MTAs and MUAs to compose, deliver, and store messages.
MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
MIME is defined by RFC 1341 et.al. It contains mechanisms for specifying and describing the format of internet message bodies. By this it is possible, to send not just 7 Bit ASCII, but also audio, graphic, video (e.g., multimedia) mails.
MTA: Mail Transfer Agent
A mail transfer agent is part of a Message Handling System . It interacts with other MTAs and with MUAs . MTAs are the part of the MHS which is responsible for transferring messages (e-mails). Typical MTAs are sendmail, qmail, smail, and several others.
MUA: Mail User Agent
A mail user agent is part of a Message Handling System . It is the connection between a user and a MTA . MUAs are ELM, mutt, PINE, and many more.
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
SMTP is defined in RFC 821.
RHS: Right Hand Side
this refers to the right part of entries in maps or to the middle part of rulesets.
UBE: Unsolicited Bulk E-Mail
one name for unwanted e-mail.
UCE: Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail
another name for unwanted e-mail.
A simplified picture of a MHS.
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Copyright © Claus Aßmann Please send comments to: <ca@sendmail.org>