[Info-vax] Use of logical names other than I/O redirection

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <a881a1ce-5ba7-46f8-b093-13701014565bn at googlegroups.com>,
"alanfe... at gmail.com" <alanfeldman48 at gmail.com> writes: 

> On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 4:40:49 PM UTC-4, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
> > On 2022-09-12 18:18:09 +0000, alanfe... at gmail.com said: 
> > 
> > > You can use logical names for recipients!
> 
> [...]
> 
> > > I don't know if this is a true story, but someone did a$ DEFINE MORON
> > > <user-address> 
> > > And when the person received it, it should that it was sent to MORON!
> > You can do that with pretty much any mail tool, or with DNS translations, etc.
> > > I suppose that's harmless enough for personal use. I suppose one could 
> > > make "public" logical names for positions like systems administrator, 
> > > or HR Head, who might change from time to time.
> > Easier to use a forwarding entry in the database for forwarding 
> > arriving OpenVMS MAIL to a fixed address (and SYSTEM, FIELD, etc., are 
> > routinely forwarded on systems I have administered), but there are 
> > limits. OpenVMS MAIL doesn't like multiple forwarders. Forwarding to a 
> > forwarding server does work, as a workaround. 
> 
> The MORON bit was an unintentional thing. The sender didn't know it
> would appear as "To: MORON" to the recipient. The sender must have
> assumed that MAIL would show the recipient the translation, not the
> actual logical name. 

So were you the sender or the recipient?  :-)

> The only time I use VMS MAIL is on EISNER

I've been using VMS MAIL for 30 years.

> I'm just curious about how people here feel about logical names, other
> than I/O direction. 

I use them for all kinds of things.  With the modes, tables, parent 
tables, search lists, concealed devices, etc., they are really powerful.
Often a topic in the "why can't linux do this?" discussions.  :-)