I must say, as a qmail newbie (and an email administrator newbie),
the qmail homepage was/is a bit daunting. Heck, I still have
trouble finding things I am looking for. My problem is there is just
too much information. When I first got started with qmail I followed
the
great Internet strategy: find a suitable program from the net, download
it, read INSTALL, make, make install :). In combination with the
install files and lwq, I managed to get things installed and working.
However, I think the only reason I managed to get it all to work was
by following the procedure in lwq. Most of the things I did I have
no idea what they do. Moreover, after every step, it seems I had to
go and download yet another tool/ultility to get the overall job done.
IMHO, there seems to be too much information on the main page.
For example, one of the first things I came across on the web page was
the documentation section. In fact, the exact thing I was looking for.
However, the second link is how to configure selective relaying.
Selective relaying; what the heck is that ;) The next thing is
the author's enhancement software. Huh, where's the tar file. Ah, it's
at the top of the page. okay. Now, looking at the enhancement software,
what the heck is ezmlm? Maildirs? Where are the mbox's? Get the point
here? A lot of jargon for a newbie. Heck, even if I had been an
administrator for the last 10 years, much of the information is very
qmail
specific (Maildir, checkpassword, daemontools, etc.).
For the qmail gurus, the page is great. You scan down a single
page, find the program you are looking for, and you run with it. For
someone who doesn't know a Maildir from a rcpthosts file, it's a bit
much. I commend Russel on a concise, informative web page, but
us newbies need something a little less concise and with a little less
information.
Thanks for listening.
-Tom
Cris Daniluk wrote:
>
> I've been using qmail for a few years now and I find the qmail.org site to
> be a comprehensive and very useful place to get what I need. It is all on
> one page (albeit in somewhat of chaos, the new gif makes it workable) and
> has exactly what I need. Certainly don't change it :)
>
> However, I think Lyndon's point may have validity in a small sense. All this
> information is obfuscating to new people to qmail, it is confusing enough as
> it is for someone moving from sendmail's trashy system. I think it would be
> GREAT to have an alternative place in a nice simple layout that explains
> things to people. The easier you make it to use, the more people will use it
> (though that doesn't explain why people use Sendmail's cryptic system :).
>
> As far as I'm concerned, make the new site. Just don't change the current
> one in the process! To compliment Russ, it *is* much nicer having it all on
> one page. Time saving. I can also search for what I'm looking for.
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