Re: [Exim] Exim4: allow_defer/fail but not blackhole

Top Page
Delete this message
Reply to this message
Author: John Horne
Date:  
To: exim-users
Subject: Re: [Exim] Exim4: allow_defer/fail but not blackhole
On 24-Jul-2002 at 13:22:18 Philip Hazel wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Jul 2002, John Horne wrote:
>> Exim 4.10 manual page 145 shows the redirect router has the 'allow_defer'
>> and 'allow_fail' options, but then 'forbid_blackhole' (over the page). I
>> tend to class these things together - defer/fail/blackhole - so in that
>> respect shouldn't an 'allow_blackhole' be available? Or the other way -
>> 'forbid_defer' and 'forbid_fail'?
>
> Providing both an "allow" and a "forbid" option for the same thing would
> be confusing, because if both were given, which one should prevail?
>

Agreed.

> Of course, I could turn them all into one or the other, with suitable
> "true" or "false" defaults. In that case, it would have to be "allow", I
> think, because "forbid_xxx = false" is a double negative, which is
> always confusing.
>

I would say only change 'forbid_blackhole' to 'allow_blackhole'. This then
ties in with allow_defer and allow_fail. The 'forbid_pipe', 'forbid_file'
etc I likewise group together and since they are all 'forbid_' then that's
okay.

I've been trying to think why by default defer and fail are not allowed, but
blackhole is allowed in a redirect router. I can only think this stems from
Exim 3 when blackhole was introduced and potentially could be used in
/etc/aliases instead of /dev/null? I think would rather have all three
disabled by default :-)


John.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Horne, University of Plymouth, UK           Tel: +44 (0)1752 233914
E-mail: jhorne@???
PGP key available from public key servers