Bug#364690: exim4-config: Help setting up as a SMTP AUTH client would be useful

[Marc Haber]

package exim4-config
tags #364690 wontfix
thanks

On Tue, Apr 25, 2006 at 01:10:47AM +0100, Tony Houghton wrote:
> Many ISPs seem to require plaintext authentication nowadays.

Those need to be treated with a cluebat.

> I happened
> to miss the appropriate documentation (I looked in exim4-doc-html
> instead of exim4-base)

I have added referenced to /usr/share/doc/exim4-base/README.Debian to
the exim4-doc-Packages and have added a new chapter to README.Debian
about how to find exim4 docs.

> and had great difficulty configuring exim4 to
> authenticate as a client. It would be helpful if exim4-config could ask
> users if they want to support plain text authentication and set
> AUTH_CLIENT_ALLOW_NOTLS_PASSWORDS if so;

I won't do that for two reasons:
  (1) exim4-config asks too many debconf questions already. I am
      strongly opposed to add just more debconf questions since people
      will jump in on this and will want to have their pet feature
      supported by the debconf configuration as well.
  
  (2) using SMTP AUTH over unencrypted connections is like shooting
      yourself in the foot. I won't have that misfeature configureable by a
      menu-driven interface. It is well documented how to activate it.

>a hint to edit passwd.client

See README.Debian chapter 2.3.1

> (maybe with a warning about #244724 if that's still a problem)

documented in passwd.client itself.

> I've seen #314184 and agree with the maintainers that the proposed patch
> was inappropriate, but I still think it would be a good idea for
> exim4-config to help with this in some way.

I still do not understand what the submitter of #314814 complains
about. exim's client authentication mechanism is configured in
auth/30_exim4-config_examples, and the client authenticators seem to
handle AUTH_CLIENT_ALLOW_NOTLS_PASSWORDS just fine. Since the original
submitter didn't bother to answer to my substantiation queries, I have
closed the bug today.

Greetings
Marc

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