Electronic mail (email) didn't start with UNIX, but the UNIX email system has become the de facto standard of the Internet. We all use it, but we sometimes don't understand what happens behind the scenes. A better understanding of email internals might help us find ways to improve our systems and, possibly, reduce unwanted email traffic.

At our September meeting, long-time member Dave Close will present an overview of the UNIX mail system. He'll discuss the various program components which together make the system work, the sequence of events involved in getting a message from a sender to a recipient, and the standard files associated with email.

This will not be a discussion of any particular email program, but of the processes and standards which allow them to interoperate. It's a complex subject and probably can't be covered in a short time, but your questions and experience will help to focus the presentation.