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6 messages in net.sourceforge.lists.courier-maildropRe: [maildropl] Re: automatic creatio...| From | Sent On | Attachments |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Metro | Aug 29, 2004 4:11 pm | |
| Sam Varshavchik | Aug 29, 2004 5:05 pm | |
| Tom Metro | Aug 29, 2004 6:14 pm | |
| Ron Johnson | Aug 29, 2004 6:55 pm | |
| Tony Earnshaw | Aug 30, 2004 1:24 am | |
| Tom Metro | Aug 30, 2004 8:41 pm |
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| Subject: | Re: [maildropl] Re: automatic creation of maildir directories | Actions... |
|---|---|---|
| From: | Tom Metro (tmet...@vl.com) | |
| Date: | Aug 29, 2004 6:14:40 pm | |
| List: | net.sourceforge.lists.courier-maildrop | |
Sam Varshavchik wrote:
Tom Metro writes:
...it didn't automatically create maildirs upon initial mail delivery...
This seems like a fairly significant behavior that isn't mentioned in the maildrop man page.
The Apache server's manual page also doesn't quite mention that Apache will not automatically create /var/www/html for you. So?
Do other web servers typically create their document roots? (I'd assume not.)
This is a matter of expectations. Predating use of maildirs, LDAs have commonly automatically created mailboxes when mail was delivered, if they didn't already exist. (Not all perhaps, but most.) maildrop does this too when delivering to Berkeley style mailboxes. Shouldn't the variation in behavior when it comes to maildirs be documented? (This could be particularly non-obvious to someone new to maildirs, especially given that newer tools seem to be trending towards automatic creation.)
I checked the changelog in 1.7.0 and didn't see anything relevant. (By
Why should there be anything relevant? maildrop never automatically created home directories, or maildirs.
I was looking to see if the patch had been incorporated or the capability otherwise added since version 1.5.3 that I was using. (Obviously it wouldn't make sense to complain about this missing capability if it had already been added in a later version.)
What seems missing from the discussion is why this functionality hasn't made it into the core source. Are there arguments against adding this?
Because if, for some reason, an NFS mount failed here or there, maildrop wil then go off, half-cocked, and begins creating directories and files where it has no business doing that.
It seems there should be ways of addressing this (like not giving the maildrop user permission to write to the mount point), not to mention that if it is an optional switch (disabled by default), the administrator can decide whether it is appropriate to use in their environment.
What happens when maildrop automatically creates a Berkeley style mailbox in an area where there should have been an NFS mount? Presumably it would fail because the parent directory would be missing. This is pretty much the identical situation as maildrop creating a maildir mailbox. It seems then that your argument is against maildrop creating home directories, which as I noted in my last email is functionality that should probably be separately enabled, and I agree is more controversial.
maildrop is a mail delivery agent. It delivers mail to existing mailboxes. It does not create them.
As noted above, your statements only hold true for maildir type mailboxes.
...never will. That's the sysadmin's job.
If it never does, it certainly isn't the end of the world. Even in a virtual user environment, there are other components where this burden can be pushed. Though I think there are many reasonable arguments in favor of such functionality, such as consistency, simplification for new administrators (one less step), and simplification of virtual user management tools.
I don't know your role in the maildrop project, but I see your email address is from the courier-mta.com domain, so is this an official position? In other words, is it pointless to continue on with well reasoned arguments in favor of adding this capability? Regardless, I appreciate the reply.
-Tom