binmail(1)
NAME
binmail − send or receive mail among users
SYNTAX
/bin/mail person...
/bin/mail [ −r ] [ −q ] [ −p ] [ −f file ]
DESCRIPTION
The /bin/mail command with no argument prints your mail, message-by-message, in last-in, first-out order. When persons are named, /bin/mail takes the standard input up to an end-of-file, or a line with just “.”, and adds it to each person’s mail file. The message is preceded by the sender’s name and a postmark. Lines that look like postmarks are prepended with “>”. A person is usually a user name recognized by login(1). To denote a recipient on a remote system, prefix person by the system name and exclamation mark. For further information see, uucp(1c). The −r option causes first-in, first-out order. If the −p option is given, the mail is printed with no questions asked. Otherwise, for each message, /bin/mail reads a line from the standard input to direct disposition of the message.
newline Go on to next message.
d Delete message and go on to the next.
p Print message again.
− Go back to previous message.
s [ file ] ... Save the message in the named files (“mbox” default).
w [ file ] ... Save the message, without a header, in the named files (“mbox” default).
m [ person ] ...
Mail the message to the named persons (yourself is default).
EOT (control-D)
Put unexamined mail back in the mailbox and stop.
q Same as EOT.
x Exit, without changing the mailbox file.
!command Escape to the Shell to do command.
? Print a command summary.
An interrupt stops the printing of the current letter. The optional argument −q causes /bin/mail to exit after interrupts without changing the mailbox.
The −f option causes the named file, for example, mbox, to be printed as if it were the mail file.
Each user owns his own mailbox, which is by default generally readable but not writable. The command does not delete an empty mailbox nor change its mode, so a user may make it unreadable if desired.
When a user logs in he is informed of the presence of mail.
RESTRICTIONS
There is a locking mechanism intended to prevent two senders from accessing the same mailbox, but it is not perfect and races are possible.
FILES
/usr/spool/mail/*mailboxes
/etc/passwdto identify sender and locate persons
mboxsaved mail
/tmp/ma*temp file
dead.letterunmailable text
uux(1c)