Random Qmail Questions
DISCLAIMER: Please forgive me if these are totally pathetic question. Believe it or not, I have read through the docs, and still haven't figured things out. First Question: I've set up qmail to run in Maildir mode. All of my users now have their pretty little ~/Maildir/ set up. Right now I've got pine aliased to pinq so that everything will work. I notice that when a user starts pine, it automatically creates a Mailbox instead of using the Maildir. Does maildir2mbox do this automatically, or do I have something set up wrong? Second Question: I can't seem to send mail to root. Every time I try, a message ends up in the logs stating: delivery x: deferral: Unable_to_chdir_to_maildir._(#4.2.1) I think I have all my permissions set correctly. What could be the problem? Also, I get the same error message when I send mail to a certain user, but it waits a second and delivers the mail to that user anyway. Weird.. Third Question: While looking through the FAQ, I've noticed a lot of mailer bashing. Under the questions "How to I get x mailer to work with qmail?" there always seems to be some mention of how that mailer is insecure, unreliable, and basically worthless. Yet, I don't see any mention of what one is supposed to use instead. What is the preferred MUA for DJ Bernstein dittoheads? Is there a mailer with native Maildir support? Fourth Question: Last question I promise. While looking through the docs, I've seen lots of recommendations to switch over to various programs, programs to replace things such as syslog and inet. I've noticed that all of these replacement programs seem to be in the beta stage. How reliable are they currently? I'm a bit wary of using beta software to replace something as important as my syslog and inet! I just wanted to ask before I try. Thanks for putting up with all my lame questions. Regards, Jason
Re: Random Qmail Questions
>aliased to pinq so that everything will work. I notice that when a user >starts pine, it automatically creates a Mailbox instead of using the >Maildir. Does maildir2mbox do this automatically, or do I have something >set up wrong? Pine only groks mailboxes, so maildir2mbox moves the messages from a maildir to an mbox for Pine's benefit. In the longer run, consider running an IMAP server that handles maildirs. >Second Question: I can't seem to send mail to root. Every time I try, a >message ends up in the logs stating: That's a feature, qmail doesn't want to run as root which it would have to do. Use ~alias/.qmail-root to send root's mail somewhere else. >Also, I get the same error message when I send mail to a certain >user, but it waits a second and delivers the mail to that user anyway. >Weird.. Hmmn. Beats me. Usual voodoo suggestions regarding protections of the maildir and the user's home directory. >unreliable, and basically worthless. Yet, I don't see any mention of what >one is supposed to use instead. What is the preferred MUA for DJ Bernstein >dittoheads? Is there a mailer with native Maildir support? People say nice things about mutt. The rest of us make do with worthless unreliable MUAs. >Fourth Question: Last question I promise. While looking through the docs, >I've seen lots of recommendations to switch over to various programs, >programs to replace things such as syslog and inet. I've noticed that all >of these replacement programs seem to be in the beta stage. How reliable >are they currently? More reliable than the things they replace. Dan's definition of beta is along the lines of "not known to be bug-free" rather than the more popular "runs well enough that maybe the users will debug it for us." Like most bits of qmail, tcpserver is really nice once you believe that it really is fast and nail down its typical three-mile long command line. -- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 [EMAIL PROTECTED], Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail
Re: Random Qmail Questions
> Pine only groks mailboxes, so maildir2mbox moves the messages from a maildir > to an mbox for Pine's benefit. In the longer run, consider running an IMAP > server that handles maildirs. I realized that it didn't like Maildir, but I thought you could set what file it used as it's mbox by setting the MAILTMP variable. I've got my MAILTMP set as something else entirely, yet it insists on using Mailbox. Why would I want to set up an IMAP server? I don't currently have one running. The way I see it, the less open ports I've got, the better. > That's a feature, qmail doesn't want to run as root which it would have to > do. Use ~alias/.qmail-root to send root's mail somewhere else. Ah thank you. I knew I had forgotten to ask something. I aliases work under qmail. I've got some aliases under people's home directories, so they can accept mail from other addresses, but I haven't figured out how the ~alias/.qmail-x works. Do I need to put the address to forward to in the /.qmail-root file? Is it as simple as that? > People say nice things about mutt. The rest of us make do with worthless > unreliable MUAs. Glad you brought up mutt. I've been wanting to switch to it for some time now. Unfortunately I haven't found an editor that works with it too well. It was using vi, but vi seems to forget to wrap the text, so it sends everything on this one long line. I tried using pico as well, but it sits there and asks me what file I want to save it as etc., which is just a pain. BTW, does mutt use Maildir, or will I have to set up a mutq filter for it as well? > More reliable than the things they replace. Dan's definition of beta > is along the lines of "not known to be bug-free" rather than the more > popular "runs well enough that maybe the users will debug it for us." > Like most bits of qmail, tcpserver is really nice once you believe that > it really is fast and nail down its typical three-mile long command line. Thanks, I'm into anything that'll save me some memory and a few CPU cycles. I'll have to give them a try. Regards, Jason
Re: Random Qmail Questions
On Thu, 27 May 1999 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> Pine only groks mailboxes, so maildir2mbox moves the messages from a maildir >> to an mbox for Pine's benefit. In the longer run, consider running an IMAP >> server that handles maildirs. > >I realized that it didn't like Maildir, but I thought you could set what >file it used as it's mbox by setting the MAILTMP variable. I've got my >MAILTMP set as something else entirely, yet it insists on using Mailbox. >Why would I want to set up an IMAP server? I don't currently have one >running. The way I see it, the less open ports I've got, the better. You may actually want to examine the pinq script to see how it's coded. As for running an IMAP daemon, i honestly dont see why you would want to do that either. You can choose pop or imap, but running both only allows you to service a market where people prefer IMAP over POP, which is rare. The pop daemon that DJB wrote for maildir works beautifully, is simple, fast, secure, and what more can you ask for? OH, of course it's free too :) and you probably already have it if you have qmail running. >> That's a feature, qmail doesn't want to run as root which it would have to >> do. Use ~alias/.qmail-root to send root's mail somewhere else. > >Ah thank you. I knew I had forgotten to ask something. I aliases work >under qmail. I've got some aliases under people's home directories, so >they can accept mail from other addresses, but I haven't figured out how >the ~alias/.qmail-x works. Do I need to put the address to forward to in >the /.qmail-root file? Is it as simple as that? No, you need to read the documentation. This is really a much larger question then can be answered here, but here are the relevant places to look: http://web.infoave.net/~dsill/lwq.html and specifically: http://web.infoave.net/~dsill/lwq.html#Aliases > > >> People say nice things about mutt. The rest of us make do with worthless >> unreliable MUAs. > >Glad you brought up mutt. I've been wanting to switch to it for some time >now. Unfortunately I haven't found an editor that works with it too well. >It was using vi, but vi seems to forget to wrap the text, so it sends >everything on this one long line. I tried using pico as well, but it sits >there and asks me what file I want to save it as etc., which is just a >pain. BTW, does mutt use Maildir, or will I have to set up a mutq filter >for it as well? I believe that any recent version of mutt has maildir support natively. >> More reliable than the things they replace. Dan's definition of beta >> is along the lines of "not known to be bug-free" rather than the more >> popular "runs well enough that maybe the users will debug it for us." >> Like most bits of qmail, tcpserver is really nice once you believe that >> it really is fast and nail down its typical three-mile long command line. > >Thanks, I'm into anything that'll save me some memory and a few CPU >cycles. I'll have to give them a try. > >Regards, >Jason You'll find this is pretty much normal. DJB's "beta" or even "alpha" software is usually much higher quality then the normal "beta" package. I have much faith in DJB's coding skill. ___ _ __ _ __ /___ ___ /__ John Gonzalez/Net.Tech __ __ \ __ \ __/_ __ `__ \/ __ /_ ___/ MDC Computers/netMDC! _ / / / `__/ /_ / / / / / / /_/ / / /__ (505)437-7600/fax-437-3052 /_/ /_/\___/\__/ /_/ /_/ /_/\__,_/ \___/ http://www.netmdc.com [-[system info]---] 10:15pm up 112 days, 5:18, 4 users, load average: 0.06, 0.14, 0.11
Re: Random Qmail Questions
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] had the thought that... <<< > > That's a feature, qmail doesn't want to run as root which it would have to > > do. Use ~alias/.qmail-root to send root's mail somewhere else. > > Ah thank you. I knew I had forgotten to ask something. I aliases work > under qmail. I've got some aliases under people's home directories, so > they can accept mail from other addresses, but I haven't figured out how > the ~alias/.qmail-x works. Do I need to put the address to forward to in > the /.qmail-root file? Is it as simple as that? Yup, just put a &your-login-here in ~alias/.qmail-root and all will be well. > > People say nice things about mutt. The rest of us make do with worthless > > unreliable MUAs. > > Glad you brought up mutt. I've been wanting to switch to it for some time > now. Unfortunately I haven't found an editor that works with it too well. > It was using vi, but vi seems to forget to wrap the text, so it sends > everything on this one long line. I tried using pico as well, but it sits > there and asks me what file I want to save it as etc., which is just a > pain. BTW, does mutt use Maildir, or will I have to set up a mutq filter > for it as well? All of the above problems can be fixed in the config files of vim and mutt. I know it's bad to assume that he is using vim instead of mutt, but if he isn't he should be ;-) .vimrc: set tw=70 " always limit the width of text to n .muttrc set mbox_type="Maildir" set mbox="$HOME/Maildir/" set spoolfile="$HOME/Maildir/" This setup works pretty well for me. Pat -- Patrick Berry Code Creation Freestyle Software 415.778.0610 http://www.freestylesoftware.com
Re: Random Qmail Questions
>As for running an IMAP daemon, i honestly dont see why you would want to >do that either. You can choose pop or imap, but running both only allows >you to service a market where people prefer IMAP over POP, which is rare. Pine users are a notable IMAP market. Pine believes deeply, devoutly, in IMAP. I'm planning to bring up an IMAP server here partly for Pine, partly so I can check my mail from Eudora on my laptop and see all of the mailboxes into which procmail has sorted my mail and stay in sync with Pine when I get home. >The pop daemon that DJB wrote for maildir works beautifully, is simple, >fast, secure, and what more can you ask for? IMAP does a lot more than POP. I agree that the IMAP people at Washington have a very bad attitude toward qmail and maildirs, though. -- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 [EMAIL PROTECTED], Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail
Re: Random Qmail Questions
On Thu, 27 May 1999, John Gonzalez/netMDC admin wrote: You'll find this is pretty much normal. DJB's "beta" or even "alpha" software is usually much higher quality then the normal "beta" package. I have much faith in DJB's coding skill. It isn't the coding. It is the very intense attention paid to design and then *testing* (and redesign) which I believe gives Dan's software such bedrock stability, even right out of the gate. The first qmail beta, qmail-0.70, was more solid than most other mail product's 'release' versions. -- Jeff Hayward
Re: Random Qmail Questions
John Gonzalez/netMDC admin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >The pop daemon that DJB wrote for maildir works beautifully, is simple, >fast, secure, and what more can you ask for? Correction 1: Russ Nelson wrote it, DJB modified it. Correction 2: regarding security, the qmail-popup man page says: qmail-popup should be used only within a secure network. Otherwise an eavesdropper can steal passwords. Even if you use APOP, an active attacker can still take over the connection and wreak havoc. >http://web.infoave.net/~dsill/lwq.html#Aliases Unfortunately, this is just a skeleton. It's next on my list, though, so it should be there in a day or so. -Dave
Mutt, vi/vim (Was: Re: Random Qmail Questions)
On the qmail list [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
>> > People say nice things about mutt. The rest of us make do with worthless
>> > unreliable MUAs.
Mutt fills all my needs except when I want permanent archiving
of possibly long conversation with many participants. For that
I gate mail2news.
>.vimrc:
>set tw=70 " always limit the width of text to n
Don't forget 'par', on an ftp site near you.
:map F {!}par -w64 -gtq
You can get longer lines using tw=70, but you mostly have
to do it on purpose. But if you often go back and rewrite,
you'll want par too; it reformats paragraphs, with a host of
options. Couldn't do without it.
--
#include Lorens Kockum
