* Simon Hepburn (sth@blueyonder.co.uk) [020401 00:20]: > dman wrote: > > > Will KMail automatically try at ever-increasing intervals for a given > > amount of time and then genarate a bounce that _will_ be delivered to > > the sender if the mesasge can't be delivered? For the first point, if Well, these also aren't strict requirements of every MTA. > > For the second point, it is > > impossible. After all, the failure occured because kmail can't get to > > the server that is supposed to handle delivery. If it generates a > > bounce, then it would have to transfer it to the server it can't get > > to for delivery. > > For a dial up connection its your ISP's mailservers that handle the bouncing. > All kmail is doing is placing returned undeliverable messages back in the > users outbox so that another attempt can be made to deliver them. Right, this gets treated at a "higher application level" of sorts. It's the same type of behavior as if the message couldn't be injected into the local MTAs queue for some reason; the MUA just hangs on to the message telling the user it couldn't be sent. > > I'm not discrediting KMail in any way, I just don't believe that any > > MUA should try and handle SMTP. > > For the case of a standalone box without permanent connection I have to > disagree. Keep it simple. Keep it simple indeed. Simple as in nullmailer or ssmtp. Both are examples that an MTA can be trivial, and the tried and true model of "do one thing and do it well" lives on. This kind of debate can go on and on (and often does on mutt-user when someone asks "why can't mutt deliver to my ISPs mail relay?") It's a design decision. I think most people will agree that it's a cleaner design to keep it simple and have each program do one thing and do it well, especially when the tools to do the SMTP part already exist Freely =) My point is (with these seemingly somewhat conflicting statements) that practically speaking, it is possible, but from a philosophical point of view (i.e. if I had to design an MUA from scratch right now) SMTP probably doesn't have any place in an MUA. That's no reason to stop using your favorite MUA, though. good times, Vineet -- Currently seeking opportunities in the SF Bay Area Please see http://www.doorstop.net/resume.shtml
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