Quoting Jeff Lacki <j...@rahul.net>:
I have a situation with hosting.com, trying to setup a friends postfix config. Since I knew nothing about them I asked him to find out what their smtp server was. They said that we cannot use it and gave us a link to setup postfix, however they show no relayhost (smtp) server in the config! My question is, who can I use as an smtp relayhost if the local host doesnt have one?
If your ISP won't let you use their SMTP server, you'll need to configure your own or find someone who will let you use theirs. At this point your best bet is to find someone who will relay mail for you (generally this costs money), or switch to a hosting provider that has an SMTP server they will let you use.
It's not difficult to setup postfix, however getting large ISPs to accept your mail can be a full-time job.
If you're going to be sending out individual emails to people you know, it probably won't be a problem. If you're going to setup a mailing list or want to send bulk email, it's an entirely different story.
For example, you can send a few emails to AOL and they'll go through. However if you send a bunch of mail to AOL or a few users click the "SPAM" button, suddenly you won't be able to send any mail to AOL, and getting this fixed takes work, which you may or may not want to do.
Terry
