[Dovecot] Feature request: usernames and passwords

[Leonardo Rodrigues]

Em 21/07/2010 10:30, Eduardo M KALINOWSKI escreveu:
>
> I think none of this is dovecot's function. Let's keep the UNIX 
> filosophy: one tool does one function, and does that function well. 
> Dovecot is an execellent mail server. It should not be turned into a 
> monster Windows-like application that does dozens of 
> not-really-quite-related things.
>


     the idea of 'one tool does one function (OTDOF) ' is indeed 
interesting, but can be interpreted by several ways.

     for instance, dovecot does NOT 'one function only'. It does a REAL 
LOT of functions. It's a pop3 server as well as imap4 one, with or 
without SSL for both protocols. It can read mailboxes, maildirs and some 
others i've never used myself. It can even deliver messages to 
mailboxes/maildirs, having the password backend in several different 
ways (passwd file, MySQL, LDAP, etc etc). It can check and enforce 
quotas. It's not a completly mail server, as you regarded, because it 
cannot do the SMTP part, which is pretty important for a mail server to 
fully operate. Even tough, it does a LOT of things.

     i completly agree that dovecot should not try to have, for example, 
a builtin admin interface for managing users ... because managing users 
is completly dependable on the password backend used, and schemas can be 
VERY different from one user to another. It would be nonsense trying to 
have that, a builtin interface for managing user. That i agree would not 
fit the 'one tool does one function'. Managing user is not dovecot's 
problem as well as checking/enforcing password policies, as discussed 
before on this thread.

     but, regarding what it already do, delivering messages by 
pop3/imap4 protocol for users, i really think adding security features 
wouldnt be bad idea. And indeed, as confirmed by Pascal, some of those 
are already built in dovecot 2.0 RCs.

     the OTDOF is really hard to apply on some full-feature daemons 
we're used to have on unix world, for example: dovecot, 
postfix/qmail/exim, apache, clamav, etc etc etc. All of them (and lots 
of other daemons) does a LOT of things, all of them as a part of the 
main daemon goal. It's really hard to stay on the OTDOF on those 
full-featured daemons. It's easy to keep the OTDOF idea on basic and 
small command-line utilities, like cat cp rm .... but not on the 
full-featured modern daemons.

     and, in the real world we live, having security features do not 
brake the 'one tool does one function' at all on my understandings of 
that. In fact, if those security features are there to help the security 
of the daemon main goal, whatever the main goal is, they're VERY welcome 
to me.

     we dont need to carry this on anymore, as seems lots of good things 
are already on dovecot 2.0 RCs .... proving that dovecot authors do 
think that increasing security is in the main goal of dovecot 
development plans.

     thanks for all who help dovecot being each day a better software, 
those who code things as well as those who test new features on the RCs, 
those who make new features requests, those who help others here on the 
mailing list .... thanks for all.


-- 


	Atenciosamente / Sincerily,
	Leonardo Rodrigues
	Solutti Tecnologia
	http://www.solutti.com.br

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