OT: flame on (was Re: [TriLUG] Debian Bigots)

[Ben Pitzer]

Andy,

Setting up a mail server is easy.  Setting up a mail server to serve a
large number of users is not easy.  Setting up an enterprise class mail
service to serve hundreds of thousands of users (no, I'm not
exaggerating), many of whom like to set their mail clients to POP email
once per minute, just so they don't miss anything, is very, very, VERY
difficult.  Please keep that in mind to begin with.

Now, that being said, I'm sure you'll have a fairly easy time setting up
your mail server, as it will be serving only you, and you can set
Evolution, pine, mutt, elm, and any number of other mail clients to get
the mail directly from your mail spool.  I suggest Postfix, personally,
which I've had a delightful time with, having set up my wife's business
mail server.

The fun part is that you had better make damned sure that you close your
relay.  Also, I hope you find a decent dynamic DNS service that will
help you keep your mail server current at all times, as your IP can and
will change on our service.  It might not happen often, say once or
twice a year, but it does happen.  We perform maintenance, which can
cause random users to lose their leases based on lease expirations,
etc.  (Just for the suspicious among you, it's very, very difficult to
manipulate those lease times to coordinate with maintenance windows, and
I have neither the time nor the inclination to listen to Andy's
complaints were he to have an interruption of service).  Changing leases
makes it very impractical to set yourself up as a primary DNS service,
so I suggest dyndns.org or some other similar dynamic DNS service.

I will warn you, however, that I do everything I can to shut off
customers who leave their mail relays open, especially residential
customers who are running their own illegal mail servers (read your AUP,
it's against the provisions stated therein).  Closed relays don't bug
me.  Bandwidth isn't my issue, but spammers who cause my mail servers to
have issues are.  I've lost entirely too much sleep over the last two
months to have any patience whatsoever for incompetent mail server
admins, whatever their choice of OS or server package.  My suggestion of
postfix above is largely because it's pretty well closed off by default.
Most Windows mail services aren't.  You have been warned.

Anyway, I'm off to perform a maintenance window for Columbia, SC. 
Haveaniceday.

Regards,
Ben Pitzer

> I'd like to understand a little more as to why.  I'm freeing up for time 
> shortly and I'm planning to set my own mail server up so that I can have 
> email thats at least as reliable as the postal service again (although 
> strangely I've started receiving mine today but it might be a fluke).
> 
> -Andy