11.6.10 Source-Channel-Specific Rewrite Rules ($M, $N)

It is possible to have rewrite rules that act only in conjunction with specific source channels. This is useful when a short-form name has two meanings:

1. When it appears in a message arriving on one channel.

2. When it appears in a message arriving on a different channel.

Source-channel-specific rewriting is associated with the channel program in use and the channel keywords rules and norules. If norules is specified on the channel associated with an MTA component that is doing the rewriting, no channel-specific rewrite checking is done. If rules is specified on the channel, then channel-specific rule checks are enforced. The keyword rules is the default.

Source-channel-specific rewriting is not associated with the channel that matches a given address. It depends only on the MTA component doing the rewriting and that component’s channel table entry.

Channel-specific rewrite checking is triggered by the presence of a $N or $M control sequence in the template part of a rule. The characters following the $N or $M, up until either an at sign (@), percent sign (%), or subsequent $N, $M, $Q, $C, $T, or $? are interpreted as a channel name.

For example, $Mchannel causes the rule to fail if channel is not currently doing the rewriting. $Nchannel causes the rule to fail if channel is doing the rewriting. Multiple $M and $N clauses may be specified. If any one of multiple $M clauses matches, the rule succeeds. If any of multiple $N clauses matches, the rules will fail.