[Discuss] Running a mail server, or not

[Derek Martin]

On Thu, Jun 28, 2018 at 07:16:03PM -0400, Richard Pieri wrote:
> On 6/28/2018 5:36 PM, Derek Martin wrote:
> > vice versa).  So I chose mail stores based on my access pattern and
> > desired notification behavior for the given folder...
> 
> ... reads that again.
> ... bangs head on desk.
> 
> This is not something you redesign. This is a dumpster fire that you
> should abandon.

That's essentially what I mean.  But I have to replace it with
*something*... and as I think this thread has shown, there's no
one-size-fits-all-nerds solution, and exactly what to do instead
requires some thought.  And some time spent on it, to reorganize
data, convert mail formats, etc., which if I'm being honest, I'm
loathe to spend.  What I've mostly been trying to say is I have the
same concerns as David, except I've long since given up on the idea
that my e-mail can ever truly be considered private, but, whatever you
do, don't do what I'm doing. =8^)

To be fair... the scheme I use has been extremely successful at
preventing spam from being delivered to me.  I'm not talking about
after spam assassin or similar--I don't use any such thing.  NONE.
Just rely on basic procmail rules.  This was its goal.  After right
around  two decades of using it, I still only see about 10 spam
messages PER WEEK delivered to my various persional e-mail addresses,
total.  Those are successfully delivered into a spam folder, after
failing to match any of my other procmail rules, and then periodically
deleted after some minimal review.  Rarely, I start seeing spam
delivered to one of the addresses I gave to someone, never a large,
reputable business, and I delete the address (and stop dealing with
those people).  But over time, as more and more things I need and/or
want have moved on line, it has inarguably become an unmaintainable
mess.

And for what it's worth, the single biggest reduction in delivered
spam came, unsurprisingly, when I stopped posting to mailing lists
with a real address.  I do maintain a "public" address, for certain
purposes, and by (stark!) comparison that receives typically 500-1,000
spam messages per week.  Most of that I do filter and delte unseen,
after a minimal attempt to filter "interesting" messages. If I miss
any actual non-spam I don't much care, because it's generally people
asking me for some sort of (free) support, to an address where I've
explicitly asked them not to.

-- 
Derek D. Martin    http://www.pizzashack.org/   GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02
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