Speaking at the European Electronic Messaging Association conference, Walter Tietz of Deutsche Bundespost Telekom, reaffirmed his belief that the Administrative Management Domain used in message handling services should not be replaced by a single space within Europe. A single space convention would enable users to omit the name of the carrier, replacing it with a space signifying indifference to the public network used. Proponents say that including the carrier’s name in the address is akin to naming Postman Pat on letters. However, claiming to speak as a standardiser, Tietz says that if Europe were a single country, only one Domain would be necessary – and could therefore be omitted – but since Europe consists of separate countries, the individual Management Domains must be taken into account. Tietz went on to warn of the dangers of Europe departing from conventions that are used elsewhere, saying that if you want to change the basis of standards you have to make it globally acceptable, and that if you are using X400 in a closed system, you can use a sub-set of the standard, but at the moment you have to interwork. The practical issues surrounding the whole question were highlighted by Dr Hans Pronk of Rotterdam’s Erasmus University, who has been charged with the task of charting European Interworking Status. He laments the lack of knowledge surrounding Management Domain connections, to the point where the full extent of connections is an unknown factor.
