[Pkg-exim4-users] Configuring Exim for home network

[Marc Haber]

On Sun, Feb 01, 2009 at 06:10:48PM -0500, Dave Witbrodt wrote:
> Robert Steinmetz wrote:
> > I'm not able to help at this time either. But if your changes are 
> > working and performing without significant  problems for you, I suggest 
> > you break your changes down in to simpler more easily understood 
> > components and  provide the context and code for each element you 
> > changed. Some may be beyond this list but others may be both beneficial 
> > to the readers and provide useful feedback to you.
> 
>    Actually, the purpose of my original post was to find out whether 
> asking for help/advice was even appropriate on this list.

It is, absolutely. Can I improve the list's decription to make this
more clear?

>    - The Right Way (or The Debian Way) to allow exim4 for to connect
>      (as a client) to my ISP's SMTP server, using the very non-standard
>      SMTPS protocol.  In bug 430057 on the BTS, Marc Haber disagreed
#>      with the configuration details chosen by a Debian user to get it
>      working, but I was forced to use a very similar hack.  I seek
>      assistance to configure exim4 a better way, and hoped to provide
>      some of the discussion requested by Marc toward the end of that
>      bug report thread.

the way outlined in the bug report is IMO fine for a local
modification, but it is in no way clean enough to include it in the
package.

The Right Way is, of couse, to bug the ISP to offer access to their
mail services in a RFC-conform way which can be offered as an addition
to what they already have and is thus quite painless to introduce.
otoh, the ISP being yahoo/att, I don't have much hope that they'll
ever see the light.

>    - I was confused about the differences between domain names and
>      hosts, as that terminology is used in the documentation and the
>      'exim4-config' debconf questions.  My home network is tiny (only
>      3 machines) so I don't use a DNS server, and rely instead on
>      /etc/hosts.  Being new to exim4 configuration, even when I got my
>      setup working as desired I was left wondering whether my
>      configuration really is totally wrong and I'm just getting lucky!
>      ;)

A host name is simply a special case of a domain name. Using
/etc/hosts is IMO deprecated and I would like to suggest running a
local DNS server. And I really don't see a question in this paragraph.

>    - To get headers rewritten (or not rewritten) correctly, depending
>      on whether a message was heading for one of the 3 local machines
>      or outside my home network, I had to:  modify some routers and
>      transports, alter the header rewrite rules, and write a new router
>      for my local machines.  Having ZERO experience with exim4
>      configuration before the holiday break, there must be mistakes
>      (or, at least, poor choices) that need to be addressed.

Again, no question here that I could answer. Generally, I'd try to
avoid rewriting, but that's a matter of personal style. There is more
than one way to do it.

>    Is this list even FOR userland questions, or is it just for package 
> maintainer issues?  (I would like this question answered first! ;)

This list, by virtue of being named pkg-exim4-_users_, is for userland
questions. The "pkg" prefix is mandated by the list host. List
description
(http://lists.alioth.debian.org/mailman/listinfo/pkg-exim4-users):
"This public, unmoderated list is dedicated for User-level discussion
and support for the Debian exim 4 packages. You can ask questions
about both exim upstream and the Debian exim 4 packaging here."

For package maintainer issues, we have the pkg-exim4-devel and
pkg-exim4-maintainers mailing list (both of which are unfortunately
rather low traffic these days, but they're public and open).

Greetings
Marc

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marc Haber         | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header
Mannheim, Germany  |  lose things."    Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 72739834
Nordisch by Nature |  How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 3221 2323190

Bitte beachten Sie, daß dem [m.E. grundgesetzwidrigen] Gesetz zur
Vorratsdatenspeicherung zufolge, seit dem 1. Januar 2008 jeglicher
elektronische Kontakt (E-Mail, Telefongespräche, SMS, Internet-
Telefonie, Mobilfunk, Fax) mit mir oder anderen Nutzern verdachts-
unabhängig für den automatisierten geheimen Zugriff durch Strafver-
folgungs- u. Polizeivollzugsbehörden, die Bundesanstalt für Finanz-
dienstleistungsaufsicht, Zollkriminal- und Zollfahndungsämter,die
Zollverwaltung zur Schwarzarbeitsbekämpfung, Notrufabfragestellen,
Verfassungsschutzbehörden, den Militärischen Abschirmdienst, Bundes-
nachrichtendienst sowie 52 Staaten wie beispielsweise Aserbeidschan
oder die USA sechs Monate lang gespeichert wird, einschließlich der
Kommunikation mit Berufsgeheimnisträgern wie Ärzten, Journalisten und
Anwälten. Mehr Infos zur totalen Protokollierung Ihrer Kommunikations-
daten auf www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de. (leicht verändert übernommen
kopiert von www.lawblog.de)