Hello Tbbeta, We are going to release a new version of BatPost mail server that will implement the digitally signed Delivery Status Notifications that encapsulate the message being sent. Please let us know what do you think about this feature. Mark Pearlstone have helped us to write the text that explain the benefits of this feature. We would like to thank him for that. If you, however, will still find something vague in this text, please let us know, feel free to ask the questions about this new featuer and/or edit this text that explains it.
=== In many countries there are laws that give an electronic digital signature the same status as a handwritten signature, and a digitally signed document is equivalent to a manually signed document. Using the new feature of BatPost, senders can get mail dispatch receipts that have legal recognition. This new option is based on the technologies currently required and used in government applications. BatPost signed receipts allow electronic mail to be used in spheres where only registered letters were applicable. This new method of dispatch has a number of advantages over classic methods that are not quite up-to-date with modern requirements. For example, when a registered letter is dispatched, the sender receives a document that only confirms the fact of dispatching, while the information that was sent does not remain with him or her. Copies of paper documents can be notarized, but a notary public has nothing to do with post offices and can’t certify that these paper documents were mailed. A copy of the dispatched message can be received when sending a telegram, but is restricted to only sending short text messages with a limited format. A printout of the letter enclosure also imposes constraints. Unlike the varieties of dispatch mentioned, a BatPost signed receipt contains a full copy of the sent letter. The sender receives his or her letter inside a signed receipt from the server; this receipt serves as a proof of dispatch of this very letter. Together with the receipt, the server also signs the original letter encapsulated in the receipt. Such receipts can be used for registering correspondence within an organization and for simplifying information interchange with external correspondents. Simplification of the process of presenting electronic tax accounts can also be cited as an example. So, if tax accounts are considered by law to be filed at the moment of dispatch, then this moment is determined by the date indicated in the BatPost receipt. This is suitable for the revenue service (there is no need to process the accounts and send the confirmation immediately) as well as for the taxpayer (there is no risk of being accused of non-presentation of the accounts in cases where the letter gets lost and does not reach the revenue service). The fact that the recipient is not forced to process the accounts immediately is vital in the final minutes before the deadline, when enormous quantities of letters are sent and received. In order to benefit from this new BatPost feature, several conditions are required. Firstly, for signing the receipts, BatPost must use a “qualified certificate” given by an accredited key certification center. Secondly, the private key for this certificate must be stored on a properly certified carrier. Thirdly, the BatPost program itself must be certified in the user’s country for creating legally valid electronic signatures. === -- Best regards, Maxim Masiutin mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________ Current beta is 4.0.24.18 | 'Using TBBETA' information: http://www.silverstones.com/thebat/TBUDLInfo.html
