Bug#259459: exim4-config: description and role of mailname incoherent, better wording suggested

[Ralph Katz]

I also have been frustrated by this bug.  This debconf dialog wording is
absolutely incomprehensible or contradictory:

> Your "mail name" is the hostname portion of the address to be shown
> on outgoing news and mail messages (following the username and @
> sign) unless hidden with rewriting.
> 
> 
> This name will also be used by other programs; it should be the
> single,   full domain name (FQDN) from which mail will appear to
> originate.
> 
> This name won't appear on From: lines of outgoing mails if you enable
> rewriting.
> 

First paragraph note:

I don't have any "hostname portion of the address to be shown
on outgoing news and mail messages."  I must use my debian hostname for 
exim4 to function, and then use /etc/email-addresses to convert my 
debian username to my real email address.  Why confuse us with "mail name?"

Why not, "Enter your debian hostname (pre-filled from earlier debconf 
install dialog)?  Your local email will appear as 'From: user@hostname.'"


Second paragraph note:

FQDN, fully qualified domain name, is hostname.domain.tld according to 
FOLDOC, http://www.linuxguruz.com/foldoc/foldoc.php?query=fqdn&action=Search

So how can my hostname or any "mail name" be an FQDN?  It can't.  The 
sentence makes no sense.

What does it mean, "from which mail will appear to originate?"  Which 
header are we talking about?

Also, as a desktop user with dhcp, my debian hostname is /not/ uniquely 
identifiable to any computer on the internet.  But I don't understand 
why I need this for using my ISP as smarthost.


Third paragraph note:

I still haven't figured out how to get rewriting so it functions with my 
ISP, but at least I can use exim4 minimally.

Sarge users and maintainers will all benefit from a clear debconf 
dialog.  The Debian Sarge 3.1 release deserves a higher quality 
configuration dialog.

Thanks!

Ralph Katz