On Wed, 16 Nov 2005, Jason Meers wrote:
> I think you have misunderstood me, I showed an example of the type of simple
> config that "I would have found useful" when I first started leaning to use
> Exim, and went on to say that once I had a working config, no matter how
> clunky it was, it would not matter as long as I was not running an open relay.
I have always said that I am the wrong person to write stuff about
"basic Exim" because I know too much. I only wrote the book because
nobody else seemed likely to do so. I would very much welcome
introductory material for beginners, in whatever form (different people
like different formats).
> I am not asking for Exim to be dumbed down for the lowest common denominator,
> just pointing out that it is very hard to take in everything at once.
Absolutely. Not only is Exim large and complicated, the whole Internet
email area is large and complicated. Running a public MTA *is* rocket
science. When I started writing Exim, I was writing it for experienced
Unix sysadmins, who would be replacing Sendmail (which they had been
running). Nowadays, we see newbies who are new to Unix/Linux, and new to
the Internet email scene, let alone new to Exim. That's a LOT of missing
background knowledge, and it is hard to know how best to handle the
problem.
> That is not to say that I think the default config should be rewritten, just
> that we should have some simpler configs we can show new users who may have
> trouble with sections like:
Sure. Please write them! :-)
> I have been offering my help, not just asking a stupid question because I
> can't be bothered to read something for myself and I still feel like I'm
> annoying you.
Please accept my apologies for giving that impression. As I said, I'm a
grumpy old man. :-) But don't worry, in a couple of years I'll have
retired.
> I am simply offering my time to see if we can help new users who are
> trying to learn how to use Exim.
That is excellent and generous. The community certainly needs such help.
But, to be honest, I don't think there's much more that *I* can do. So
I'll now shut up.
> Can anybody on this list honestly tell me that learning Exim is easy and so
> simple to master that it nots worth trying to help new users or converters
> from other MTAs.
I doubt it.
--
Philip Hazel University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@??? Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.
Get the Exim 4 book: http://www.uit.co.uk/exim-book
