On Thu, 9 Sep 1999, David Huybregts wrote:
> Hello Kenneth,
>
> >
> >David,
> >
> > You are confused. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a
> >_protocol_ used for the transfer of mail. 'sendmail' is a _server_ for the
> >SMTP protocol.
>
>
> Aha... well, that clearifies something...
>
>
> > On machines connected via dialup to the internet, the most common
> >way of receiving mail is via the POP (Post Office Protocol) protocol. A
> >pop-server is a server for this protocol. The POP protocol is very
> >different from the SMTP protocol and for the end-user, can only be used to
> >receive messages.
> >
> > On dialup hosts, sending mail is _always_ done through SMTP. In
> >programs such as the Netscape mailer, there is a place where you can
> >specify the SMTP server that you are using. This needs to be the hostname
> >of the machine on which the SMTP server is running.
>
>
> >
> > There are two ways of handling this : typically ISP's provide an
> >SMTP server which their users can use to send mail. If you use this, it
> >means that you should be connected to the internet when sending mail.
>
>
> When writing/sending a mail it is under Windoze not necessary to be online.
> And I've heard that when using the SMTP-setting you should be online when
> using linux... correct me if I'm wrong...
>
That very much depends on what the 'SMTP' setting _means_. Since I
am not running the latest and greatest software, I do not use KDE and
hence do not know what the man page (or other docs) for kmail says about
this setting. Do not confuse the label 'smtp' with the protocol 'smtp'.
Just because Kmail helps you send mail, doesnt mean that the 'SMTP' option
means the protocol SMTP : as I mentioned, sending mail is _always_ using
the SMTP protocol (on ordinary machines running TCP/IP, anyway. It is
possible to send mail without using SMTP, but nowadays only those of a
kooky bent try that [with apologies to the kooky]). That being the case,
it should be evident that the 'sendmail' setting in Kmail will also use
SMTP.
As far as Windows is concerned, you may be right in the details.
But, I'm sure, that under the covers, Windows is queueing up the mail. And
it also has to make the same choices - local SMTP server or remote SMTP
server - but it makes it under the covers. Of course, I dont think Windows
comes with an SMTP server, so you may only have the latter option under
Windows.
> > I suspect that this is where your problem arises. A lot of mail
> >servers that receive messages try to resolve the envelope sender 'from'
> >header to see that it makes sense. If it doesnt, you get a bounce. When
> >sending through your ISP server, the ISP has already taken care to ensure
> >that said bounce doesnt occur. When doing it yourself, you need to rewrite
> >the header yourself.
>
>
> Well, being a newbie, I'm not going to rewrite anything. So for me the right
> choice is the setting SMTP instead of sendmail in Kmail... That's all I
> wanted to know. I should start using sendmail when I want to become a ISP?
> Or maybe when I'm gonna be connected to the internet by a cablemodem?
>
>
> > There is no getting around reading TFM for this. If you have
> >problems understanding portions of the manual, ask questions and we will
> >try to answer. But I repeat, you need to rtfm : if you cant do your
> >homework, why should we do it for you?
>
>
> Well... there is something about sendmail... and something about email...
> but being a newbie, to combine these things into 1 is difficult. In the
> netherlands we have a saying 'hij heeft de bel horen luiden, maar weet niet
> waar de klepel hangt' / "he has heard the bell clinging, but doesn't know
> where the bell is" (kind of) and that's the stuff I'm struggling with. I've
> heard /read things about sendmail. I've heard/read things about SMTP... The
> trick is to combine them together... And I'm working on that...
>
Yes, documentation isnt always high-grade. And yes, there is a
huge amount of conceptual info to absorb before getting the hang of what
goes on. But refusing to read the manuals is hardly the right approach. If
there is a confusing bit in the docs, ask for clarification.
> When I look in the MAN-pages I hardly see any examples about how it could
> be. I like examples. Examples I can adjust to my needs. Just a discription
> how it should be working isn't enough for me, sorry.
>
Look up some of the old issues of the linux gazette.Unfortunately, I
dont have a link handy, so maybe someone on this list could remedy that...
> And Keith... this is/was your thread. But you mentioned the option
> sendmail/smtp in Kmail and I was confused about that also. Confused for
> other reasons, but confused nevertheless ;-)
>
> Greetings,
> David.
>
>
>
>
Regards,
Kenneth
