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mav :happy_blob:
11 comments
Evan Prodromou

@mav To that anecdote with a sample size of one?

I'd say that Open Source email servers are some of the most miserable pieces of software to work with on the planet.

I have a personal email server and keeping it running suuuuuuucks.

We need better email client and server software!

16 Mar 2023 at 12:53 | Open on prodromou.pub
Lily Star

@evan @mav Postfix is a dream compared to Sendmail. The only thing that sucks is cloud providers inability to regulate spam generators on their services.

16 Mar 2023 at 13:00 | Open on mastodon.social
trenchworms

@starlily @evan @mav I got my first spam follow today and this is certainly where my chief concern lies -- I hear that running a solo email server often sucks mainly because of how nightmarish it is to deal with spam and not get labelled as spam yourself.

16 Mar 2023 at 13:01 | Open on eldritch.cafe
Lily Star

@trenchworms @evan @mav Because spammers are stupid and do not use real MTAs, it is trivial to block 90% of them with basic tools like RBLs, greylisting, and header checks.
Getting yourself whitelisted at Google and MS is harder, but just tedious, not impossible.

16 Mar 2023 at 14:04 | Open on mastodon.social
mav :happy_blob:

@evan The meat of that anecdote didn't really have anything to do with *server software*, and everything to do with actually *getting your mail delivered*.

I take it that since you have an email server you disagree with the author's difficulties in actually getting messages delivered.

16 Mar 2023 at 13:13 | Open on hackers.town
Evan Prodromou

@mav I think getting messages delivered is hard, yes.

16 Mar 2023 at 15:52 | Open on prodromou.pub
DrJekyll

@evan @mav I have a couple of domains, and it doesn't have to be hard.

I use a 3rd party to host the email for the domains and my name registrar has clear steps on now to setup the security / antispam features required.

Probably took a couple of hours to setup (most of the time waiting for things to propagate).

But yes, running hardware yourself is more involved of course, I'm just wanting to point out that there is a 'middle ground' :)

16 Mar 2023 at 16:45 | Open on techhub.social
Dan Shick

@evan @mav sample size is much larger than one. this article has made many rounds through my networks; each time all the old heads like me pour one out for the days when one could run one’s own server.

the reason is spam, and the response of the dominant email providers to that spam. i believe if we had fewer monolithic email providers, we’d have better email client and server software that could handle that spam. as it stands, the few big sites call all the shots.

16 Mar 2023 at 13:57 | Open on hact.org
Sören

@evan @mav better server software does nothing to fight against the oligopoly of Gmail, Exchange, etc., who will greylist you whenever they feel like it because you’re to small to protest. (No, SPF and DKIM won’t suffice.)

16 Mar 2023 at 15:45 | Open on norden.social
Doмιnιc

@evan @mav I stopped managing my own email server years ago, I went a bit with lavabit until they shut down and I've now handed this work over to a paid account. It's worth the money.
I think this makes too much work as I wouldn't care so much about my own Webserver as I'd do for my own mail server.

16 Mar 2023 at 16:57 | Open on fedi.oe7drt.com
Lily Star

@mav @evan I own a similar email server - just for me on a domain I've held for 20+ years.
My mail gets through fine.
The issue is spam control on cloud providers. For example, I have all of Linode and Airtel India blocked because they are god awful spam domains.
If they simply blocked outbound on 25 unless you registered your mail server with them, it would solve most of the problem, but of course they want the money so they won't.

16 Mar 2023 at 13:15 | Open on mastodon.social
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