[ On Mon, February 2, 1998 at 10:49:07 (+0000), Jeffrey Goldberg wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: [EXIM] Maximum Message Size
>
> I'm hoping to inch it down. I know that AoL has a limit of
> between 3 and 4 M, and most ISPs seem to think that 3 is plenty.
IMHSHO for mail traversing external ``public'' networks anything more
than about 1MB should be considered very excessive. 100KB should be
more than enough in fact, at least until 99% of the world has better
than 56KB connectivity or better.
There are much better file transport mechanisms than e-mail and anyone
needing to move that much data should learn the consequences and how to
do it properly.
If you agree with what I'm saying then the word to say to
upper-management types who baulk at such limits is a firm, solid, sticky
"NO" followed by an even more solid period. They must trust the mail
admin that such limits on external gateways are a critical security
measure and that they are in no way restrictive to "normal" use. If you
can't gain such trust from your management then you should have serious
questions to ask about your position.
Of course the limit on the local LAN is a whole other question, but even
there the number of file transfer options open to any given pair of
users is phenominal compared to the hoops such large transfers cause
most mail systems to jump through.
Lastly if there's no other way than e-mail to send a large file, then
surely one could use a MIME capable mailer that'll break the message
into as many small-enough parts as necessary. This isn't rocket science
any more!
--
Greg A. Woods
+1 416 443-1734 VE3TCP <gwoods@???> <robohack!woods>
Planix, Inc. <woods@???>; Secrets of the Weird <woods@???>
--
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