On Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:45:10 +0800 Ed Greshko <Ed.Greshko@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > You've indicated a special case that you want for some reason. Nope. If I really wanted to do something like that it would be simple enough to put entries into the appropriate /etc/hosts files and just do it. I was just wondering why a domain name is required when at its most basic setup all it really does is say, "Yeah, drop that email off at 123.456.789.001". It just seems odd that you can't skip the middle-man, as it were. Your examples of companies and so on are not really on point. Obviously, you would have a domain name if you're planning to handle any volume of mail, especially mail from the public at large. But to just send an occasional email from billy bob's basement to bobby joe's attic... well, it seems like overkill to require a domain name for that purpose. As nobody else has chimed in, I guess nobody knows why it's required other than "that's the way it's done." Which is good enough, I guess. I was just hoping to find out what the technical reason behind it was. General knowledge thing and all that, you know. -- MELVILLE THEATRE ~ Melville Sask ~ http://www.melvilletheatre.com