Re: [EXIM] Negation in domain/host/net/address lists

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Author: Jim Knoble
Date:  
To: exim-users
Subject: Re: [EXIM] Negation in domain/host/net/address lists
Two possibilities:

  (1) Wouldn't it be better to include both accept and reject options,
      and have the admin choose which one to use, tcp_wrappers-style?


      That is, to have a mostly-open access list, use *_reject.  To
      have a mostly-closed access list, use *_accept.  If both are
      used, follow the same order as tcp_wrappers: if there's a match
      in *_accept, follow the sense (normal or negated) of the match.
      Otherwise, if there's a match in *_reject, follow the sense of
      the match.  Otherwise, do the default (which is what---accept or
      reject?)


  (2) Get rid of *_accept and *_reject.  Use *_access_control (or some
      other descriptive keyword or phrase with neither positive nor
      negative sense) instead, with items that look like:


        host_access_control = accept=10.0.13.0/24 : \
                          reject=spam.spam.baked-beans.com


      This gives the following added benefits:


        - accept and reject lists can be separated if so desired:

    
        hosts_access_control = \
            accept=lsearch;/etc/exim/hosts.accept : \
            reject=lsearch;/etc/exim/hosts


          or combined:

    
        hosts_access_control = \
            cdb;/etc/exim/hosts.access


        - It's much clearer what should be accepted or rejected, since
      the keywords are there.  The lack or presence of a `!' is not
      nearly as clear.


Just my brainstorming.

--jim

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% jim knoble %%%%%%%% jmknoble@??? %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
                               Reality is futile; you will be simulated.


På 1999-Mar-17 klokka 11:48:57 +0000 skrivet Philip Hazel:

: One more issue on which I'd like opinions, please. When I collapse an
: (accept,reject,reject_except) group of options down into a single
: option, there is a choice of whether that option should be an accept
: option or a reject option. I see the following opposing arguments:

[...]


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