According to the RFC, dots are part of the email address. Very true.

BUT, Google have decided, (maybe as as part of their internal management of email addresses), to ignore dots. It is their mail server/system. It is their prerogative. They can choose to ignore dots if they want, and guess what, they have. Maybe it was easier for them to manage that way when they set it up. Who cares.

Bottom line, if you registered as john.doe@gmail.com all these addresses are yours:

john.doe@gmail.com
johndoe@gmail.com
jo.hn.do.e@gmail.com
johndo.e@gmail.com
j.o.h.n.d.o.e@gmail.com
etc...

Oh, and by the way, a great many mail servers do NOT follow all the specifications in the RFC.


On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 1:01 PM, Okechukwu <okechukwu@gmail.com> wrote:
And they claim john.doe == johndoe - This is utter nonsense and hope somebody with brains at Google is listening! They don't allow any objections as they have put it in their FAQ's as acceptable!

./Ok3ch 


On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 12:44 PM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> wrote:
john.doe != johndoe and it's allowed to have those two as distinct cby RFCs, IIRC.


On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 12:20, John Doe <fivepings@gmail.com> wrote:
Does this mean to say google will allow john.doe@gmail.com to register even though there is a johndoe@gmail.com already registered?
 
It would be chaotic if that is the case...

On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM, Okechukwu <okechukwu@gmail.com> wrote:
We can speculate why this is so, does Google engineers have an issue dealing with the dot character? Or is it a case of just "we think this is the way it should be"?

./Ok3ch


On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 9:17 AM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com> wrote:
@Kibui,

I actually always "do something about them" - depending on how important the content is. I strive to contact both the sender and the recipient to notify them on the anomaly. I've even gotten some threats in the process - by being told to read the stupid disclaimers that accompany the e-mails:)


On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 09:01, Thomas Kibui <thomas.kibui@gmail.com> wrote:
Washington,

Its unfortunate that you received someone else email .. You should probably do something about it ..

Have you thought of the converse   .. he/she is also receiving YOUR emails ..




On 13 September 2011 21:06, Brian Ngure <brian@pixie.co.ke> wrote:

They strip out the dot(s) and use the rest.

Regard's

Brian Ngure

On 13 Sep 2011 18:19, "One Murithi" <o0murithi@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 5:46 PM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Now this makes some sense to me. I think Google strips off everything
>> before the dot and uses the remaining part of the prefix.
>> I have always received e-mails addressed to *.odhiambo@gmail.com and
>> always wondered.
>>
>
> Are you certain? I think they only strip off the . which I think is
> acceptable - it is factored in when checking for available names.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_address#Syntax
>
>
>> Google should be sued - only by those who pay for the e-mail services. For
>> the free service users, I doubt anyone stands a chance.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 15:05, Okechukwu <okechukwu@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Doesn't make sense to me - if you breaking RFC's - how come you say
>>> Goggle App's do recognize the dot and mail shouldn't because someone
>>> can masquerade as you on mail but not on apps? Re-writing rules simple
>>> because you have a challenge on implementing it, which I think is the
>>> case here, is not right for the whole universe!
>>>
>>> ./Ok3ch
>>>
>>> On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 2:57 PM, Brian Ngure <brian@pixie.co.ke> wrote:
>>> > Makes sense.
>>> >
>>> > On Tue, Sep 13, 2011 at 2:54 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> Google has to make them the same person to avoid someone masquerading
>>> as
>>> >> you and using the dot to differentiate.
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>> >> Skunkworks mailing list
>>> >> Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
>>> >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
>>> >> ------------
>>> >> Skunkworks Rules
>>> >> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
>>> >> ------------
>>> >> Other services @ http://my.co.ke
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Regards
>>> >
>>> > Brian Ngure
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Skunkworks mailing list
>>> > Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
>>> > http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
>>> > ------------
>>> > Skunkworks Rules
>>> > http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
>>> > ------------
>>> > Other services @ http://my.co.ke
>>> >
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Skunkworks mailing list
>>> Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
>>> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
>>> ------------
>>> Skunkworks Rules
>>> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
>>> ------------
>>> Other services @ http://my.co.ke
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Best regards,
>> Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
>> Nairobi,KE
>> +254733744121/+254722743223
>> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
>> I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
>> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Skunkworks mailing list
>> Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
>> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
>> ------------
>> Skunkworks Rules
>> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
>> ------------
>> Other services @ http://my.co.ke
>>

_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke


_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke



--
Best regards,
Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
Nairobi,KE
+254733744121/+254722743223
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.


_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://orion.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke


_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke


_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke



--
Best regards,
Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
Nairobi,KE
+254733744121/+254722743223
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.


_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke


_______________________________________________
Skunkworks mailing list
Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
------------
Skunkworks Rules
http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94
------------
Other services @ http://my.co.ke



--
Regards

Brian Ngure