The names of the systems accessible via NJE can be added to the channel block, or rewrite rules can be added to the configuration file or domain database to map the system names onto the bit_local or anje_local channel. Since NJE only uses eight character system names that cannot contain special characters, the BN_MASTER program automatically strips domain specifications (e.g., .BITNET from the system names in envelope addresses. Thus the domain specification in the pattern should be chosen for its appropriateness rather than for consideration by BN_MASTER.

If the number of rewrite rules is large (as in the case of BITNET) then the use of a domain database is recommended.³ It is also possible to avoid having to list all possible NJE systems by defining a domain to contain all the systems. For example, the rewrite rule

.BITNET $U%$H.BITNET@Jnet-DAEMON (for Jnet)

for Jnet, or

.BITNET $U%$H.BITNET@ANJE-DAEMON (for ANJE)

for ANJE defines the .BITNET domain to contain all Jnet systems. There are three disadvantages to this scheme for dealing with BITNET: (1) all system names now have a domain name part that must be entered by the user, (2) references to unknown or illegal systems will not be detected in a timely manner, and (3) BITNET mailer gateway usage will be incorrect. Some sites prefer to use a mailer rather than use regular class M mail messages since it avoids so many problems associated with the restrictions on address lengths. For these three reasons, if you are on BITNET the use of the bitnet_domains_driver.com procedure described in Section 3.8 is strongly recommended. This file is automatically created for you by the PMDF CONFIGURE utility.