Re: [exim] Not receiving delivery reports

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Author: Ian Eiloart
Date:  
To: John Burnham, 'exim-users@exim.org'
Subject: Re: [exim] Not receiving delivery reports


--On 26 February 2010 12:42:23 +0000 John Burnham
<John.Burnham@???> wrote:

>>
>> > Thanx for the response. So the short answer is that Exim doesn't do
>> > delivery reports... Is there any reason why?
>>
>> I don't recall anyone ever requesting that feature on here?
>> It probably
>> doesn't exist because of a lack of demand...
>>
>
> I believe the real reason is that they're utterly pointless.


Not utterly pointless. They allow users to get information that would
otherwise require an administrator to search the logs. Why do they want
that information? Because it allows them to determine whether their
organisation has discharged its responsibility in sending a communication.

This legal case was won because it was possible to demonstrate that an
email (serving notice of arbitration, in accordance with a contract) had
been delivered to the recipient's mail system.

<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/10/lawsuit_started-by_email_is_valid/>

> How does a
> mail server know that it has delivered the message to its final
> destination ? The fact that it has written the message to a file doesn't
> necessarily mean that it has been delivered - the delivery system might
> then rely on another server doing something unpleasant with fetchmail,
> for example. Just because a mail server has done all that it needs to do
> with a message does not mean that it has been "delivered". John
>




--
Ian Eiloart
IT Services, University of Sussex
01273-873148 x3148
For new support requests, see http://www.sussex.ac.uk/its/help/