Re: RFC: Making mail-transport-agent Priority: optional
Jonas Meurer wrote:
> Thanks to Josh for starting this discussion. I think that you summarized
> most arguments very well in your mail.
Thank you for your very clear explanation of the issue, as well.
> Am 12.10.2011 23:39, schrieb Josh Triplett:
> > Not every system needs an MTA, and I'd argue that today most systems
> > don't. End-user systems (desktops, laptops) typically handle mail via
> > one or more smarthosts elsewhere, driven by MUAs that know how to talk
> > SMTP. Other tools which send mail have learned to send SMTP as well,
> > and tools that cannot still have the option of recommending or depending
> > on an MTA without needing one in standard. And many servers don't need
> > an MTA either, unless they run programs which need to send mail by
> > calling sendmail.
>
> I agree with the counter-arguments in this thread, that a default UNIX
> server setup should contain an MTA. This also is true for desktop
> systems of advanced UNIX sysadmins.
>
> But if Debian cares about desktop users which don't know the internals
> of a Linux/UNIX system, we need to accept that they have a very
> different vision of a default installation. For them a system should be
> kept easy, with as few daemons as possible. For them things like power
> consumption and RAM usage of default systems count much more than
> whether the system has all required elements of a standard UNIX system.
I think you've captured the problem here precisely. A desktop, laptop,
or other end-user system does not have the same needs as a server. An
MTA may well make sense on a UNIX server, either for actual use as a
mail server, or as a component needed by daemons that need to send mail.
However, a default personal system does not typically need an MTA,
though advanced users with particular needs or preferences may wish to
install one on their systems.
Note that anyone participating in this thread almost certainly qualifies
as an "advanced user". :)
We have a "server" task, and a "mail server" task. The former might
want to include an MTA, and the latter obviously should. Standard
shouldn't.
- Josh Triplett
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