smtplib & Bcc

[Steven Taschuk]

Quoth Steve Holden:
  [...]
> Right so far. RFC821 = SMTP protocol, RFC822 = mail message format (nowadays
> superseded by RFC2822, I believe).

Ah, yes, I'd forgotten.  And now that I look, I see that RFC 821
has also been superseded, by ... you guessed it, RFC 2821.

  [...]
> I *believe* (and this isn't based on a reading of the RFCs, so shoot me down
> if you like) that Bcc recipients of a message are simply not mentioned in
> the headers. They get a copy, but there won't be a "Bcc:" header in the
> message. [...]

I've just glanced in RFC 2822 (section 3.6.3); it gives "three
ways in which the Bcc: field is used", without giving any of them
special normative status.  They are: (1) remove Bcc: header, send
same copy to everybody; (2) send version without Bcc: header to
To: and Cc: recipients, but send Bcc: recipients different version
including Bcc: header; (3) remove addresses from Bcc: header but
leave it, empty, in the message (acknowledges that copies were
sent to somebody, but doesn't divulge who).

My suggestion of sending each Bcc: recipient their own copy with
only their own address in the Bcc: line is described under (2) as
something "some implementations actually" do.  Not quite the
endorsement I had hoped for the One True Bcc: Policy.  <sigh>

-- 
Steven Taschuk                                7\ 7'Z {&~         .
staschuk at telusplanet.net                        Y r          --/hG-
                                            (__/ )_             1^1`