PMDF System Manager's Guide

By default, the Postmaster return address used when PMDF constructs bounce or notification messages is postmaster@local-host, where local-host is the official local host name (the name on the local channel), and the Postmaster personal name is "PMDF e-Mail Interconnect". Care should be taken in the selection of the Postmaster address---an illegal selection may cause rapid message looping and pile-ups of huge numbers of spurious error messages.

The RETURN_ADDRESS and RETURN_PERSONAL PMDF options can be used to set a PMDF system default for the Postmaster address and personal name. Or if per channel controls are desired, the returnaddress and returnpersonal channel keywords may be used. returnaddress and returnpersonal each take a required argument specifying the Postmaster address and Postmaster personal name, respectively. noreturnaddress and noreturnpersonal are the defaults and mean to use the default values, either defaults established via the RETURN_ADDRESS and RETURN_PERSONAL options, or the normal default values if such options are not set.

If the aliaspostmaster keyword is placed on a channel, then any messages addressed to the username "postmaster" (lowercase, uppercase, or mixed case) at the official channel name will be redirected to postmaster@local-host, where local-host is the official local host name (the name on the local channel). Note that Internet standards require that any domain in the DNS that accepts mail have a valid postmaster account that will receive mail. So this keyword can be useful when it is wanted to centralize postmaster responsibilities, rather than having separate postmaster accounts for separate domains. That is, whereas returnaddress controls what return postmaster address is used when PMDF generates a notification message from the postmaster, aliaspostmaster affects what PMDF does with messages addressed to the postmaster.