bellmail command

The bellmail command is the original AT&T UNIX mail command, which handles mail for users on the same system and also for users on remote systems that can be accessed by means of Basic Network Utilities (BNU), sometimes known as the UNIX-to-UNIX Copy Program (UUCP).

These programs support only networks of systems connected by dialup or leased point-to-point communication lines. The command opens a shell whose subcommands allow you to:

• Take data from standard input (typed in or redirected from an existing file), add one or more addresses (supplied as arguments to the command itself) and a timestamp, then append a copy to each addressee's system mailbox file (/var/spool/mail/UserID).
• Read mail items from your system mailbox file.
• Append mail items to your personal mailbox file ($HOME/mbox) or to a specified file.
• Send mail using BNU to a user on another system.
• Automatically redirect all mail from your system mailbox to one on another system by adding a .forward statement to the beginning of your system mailbox file.

However, you must have some skill as a UNIX user before you can make full use of this mail handler. For more information, refer to the bellmail command in the Commands Reference, Volume 1.