VMS Help TCPIP Services, SMTP, Sending Mail  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    To send e-mail to another internet host also running SMTP, simply
    invoke the OpenVMS Mail utility at the DCL prompt, type SEND at
    the MAIL> prompt, and enter the destination. A remote destination
    consists of the user name followed by an ampersand (@) and the
    host (such as user_name@host). If the user is on your local host,
    omit the ampersand (@) and host name.

    $ MAIL
    MAIL> SEND
    To: destination_user@destination_host

    Specify the destination host as either a host name or an IP
    address.

    The OpenVMS Mail utility automatically detects destination
    addresses that include fully qualified host names (where the node
    component includes a period (.), such as MALCOLM@PHILOS.BU.EDU)
    and sends the mail using the SMTP protocol, unless your system
    has been set up to use a different Internet protocol (by defining
    an alternate protocol with the MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT logical
    name).

    However, if you use a destination address that is not fully
    qualified - that is, one in which the node component does not
    include a period (.) - the Mail utility by default assumes
    the address is a DECnet address. For example, if you specified
    MALCOLM@PHILOS as the destination address, the Mail utility
    converts it to the DECnet format PHILOS::MALCOLM.

    You can force the OpenVMS Mail utility to use a specific protocol
    by defining the MAIL$INTERNET_MODE logical name. This is useful
    in cases where a mail address, such as MALCOLM@PHILOS, can be
    valid for either SMTP or DECnet.

    You can assign one of the following values to the MAIL$INTERNET_
    MODE logical name:

    o  SMTP

       Mail always interprets the node component of an unqualified
       address as an Internet address specification. (SMTP is the
       default mode unless you define an alternate Internet transport
       with the MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT logical name.)

    o  DECNET

       Mail always interprets the node component of an unqualified
       address as a DECnet node specification.

    o  HYBRID (the default)

       Mail uses an Internet protocol if the node component of the
       address contains a period. If no periods are in the node
       component, Mail uses the DECnet protocol.

    Define the logical name in your LOGIN.COM file. For example, the
    following definition causes the Mail utility to interpret any
    address that does not include a period in the node component of
    the specification as an Internet address:

    $ DEFINE MAIL$INTERNET_MODE SMTP

    Another way to force the OpenVMS Mail utility to use SMTP is to
    include the SMTP% prefix. At the To: prompt, type SMTP% and, with
    no space, either the destination name or IP address. Enclose the
    destination in quotation marks, as in the following example:

    $ MAIL
    MAIL> SEND
    To: SMTP%"malcolm@philos"

    So, if you want to prevent the OpenVMS Mail utility from
    automatically converting an unqualified Internet host name
    address to a format for DECnet use, you have three choices:

    o  Fully qualify the host name (for example, specify
       MALCOLM@PHILOS.BU.EDU instead of MALCOLM@PHILOS).

    o  Define the MAIL$INTERNET_MODE logical name as SMTP.

    o  Include the SMTP% prefix and the destination address in
       quotation marks (for example, SMTP%"MALCOLM@PHILOS.BU.EDU").

    For more information on the OpenVMS Mail utility and how it
    interprets addresses, see the appropriate OpenVMS documentation.