Re: [exim] Really Cool Trick

Marc Perkel wrote:

>
> Ian Eiloart wrote:
>
>>
>>--On 18 October 2006 20:34:12 -0700 Marc Perkel <marc@???> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I just developed this for a guy who had only one email address for his
>>>domain. Instead of having several email addresses what I did was if he
>>>created an IMAP folder then the email address folder@??? would go
>>>directly into that folder.
>>
>>Now, all of a sudden he has more than one email address for that
>>domain. Do you mean he had only one user account on your server?
>
>
> This person only has one user account for the domain with no plans to
> ever have more. It's a domain for one person. But he's into IMAP and
> likes the idea of direct folder delivery. So if he subscribes to some
> new email list what he does is create a folder for that list and then
> subscribe using the email address folder@???. The existence of
> the folder makes the email address valid.
>
> I added it to my personal domain and I like it. In my case I have other
> accounts so it can onle be used with one account per domain. I first
> process real accopunt and aliases then if nothing else matches it will
> then start matching folders on my account. The "default" account that
> gets the folder match is activated by creating a symlink "default" to
> the directory of the person who gets the feature.
>
>

If one simply insists on a domain-wide differentiator, such as a
prefixed/suffixed address format:

<folder/listname>.<real_user>@<domain.tld>

or

<real_user>.<folder/listname>@<domain.tld>

or <whatever_else_you_wish_to_parse_embedded_local_part>@<domain>.<tld>

Then *ALL* IMAP users may have this feature. No symlinks required.

CAVEAT: Best to NOT allow the router/transport code for this special structure
to create folders that do not pre-exist.

ELSE you have a catch-all-builder that dictionery attacks may exploit.

- Though one can see uses for that as a 'feature' as well...

One might also wish to provide each user with a dynamically-generated alias as
damage control against address harvesting.


Bill