/ character in an email address....

[Kathleen]

Is there any documentation or anything out there that supports / being a valid character in an email address? We are using Openmail for our email and it has a / in the address....but we have a few companies that have troubles with the / in their mail system and sending to us. How can I prove to them its not our fault (since MANY others can get to us)?
:) Thanks

[S.K. Chan · Accepted solution]

Take a look at this document (ID=KBRC00000589) as I feel it may have the answers you're looking for.

http://support1.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/docDisplay.do?docLocale=en_US&docId=200000047610403

Hope it helps.

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi,

RFC2821 Section 2.3.10

//

2.3.10 Mailbox and Address
As used in this specification, an "address" is a character string that identifies a user to whom mail will be sent or a location into which mail will be deposited. The term "mailbox" refers to that depository. The two terms are typically used interchangeably unless the distinction between the location in which mail is placed (the mailbox) and a reference to it (the address) is important. An address normally consists of user and domain specifications. The standard mailbox naming convention is defined to be "local- part@domain": contemporary usage permits a much broader set of applications than simple "user names". Consequently, and due to a long history of problems when intermediate hosts have attempted to optimize transport by modifying them, the local-part MUST be interpreted and assigned semantics only by the host specified in the domain part of the address.

//

So, it depends on the remote host. I believe there are no hardcoded syntax rules about the e-mail address.

-Sri