[Dovecot] system v. virtual mailboxes, was Re: Thunderbird problem

[Stan Hoeppner]

Noel Butler put forth on 7/1/2010 4:46 PM:

< snipped the juvenile stabs >

> oh but as a parting shot, with all that mail we get, little spam, scams
> or viruses gets to our users, that says we are doing something right,
> and it hasn't been since around 2004 that we had any particular smtp
> server in an DNSBL, and then it was only one of a dozen (0 day virus
> infected windows weenie) , and although I was  once a member of the
> "inner boys club" being spam-l,  Jerr'ys comment and my agreeance are

You've been looking at this from the wrong perspective the entire time, and
apparently completely missed my original point, which was keeping a close eye
on what's going on with one's SMTP servers.

You mentioned nothing of outbound mail in your diatribe, only inbound.  That
means you only perform half of your duties as a mail OP.  There are numerous
scenarios in which outbound mail will get deferred, sometimes for up to 5 days
or more.  Users have no clue there is a problem unless the receiving party is
expecting the particular email and it doesn't arrive in a timely manner.  By
your own statement it would appear that you simply wait until the deferment
times out and your user finally receives an NDR.

A good seasoned mail OP is going to monitor his/her logs, via any number of
methods, and when a deferral problem arises, investigate.  If the cause of the
problem is on the other end, said OP will attempt to contact the postmaster
and work with him or her to resolve the problem.

> even more applicable to them, it totally amazes me how many SA's get
> away with this 'self justification' of their employment, again., if only
> their employers really knew.

At many organizations email is a critical communications tool and is relied
upon just as a telephone is (whether relying on email is smart of not will
continue to be debated for eons).  These organizations want and need proactive
mail OPs, ones who will take initiative and begin solving problems such as
that mentioned _before_ users even know there is a problem.

To answer your question, yes, their employers _DO_ "really know" and that's
exactly why they hired them.  They want proactive postmasters and SAs.  Most
businesses and large organizations do, or at least the ones who can afford a
decent staff.  For the small/medium business with a one man IT shop or a small
staff where everyone wears many hats all day long, this isn't feasible.  But
those with a real operations staff, most want the type of postmaster or SA
I've described.  They _don't_ want the type who sits around waiting for users
to report problems.  Preferably they want the problems solved proactively so
their users never know there was a problem.

-- 
Stan