Re: Changing the default for `send-mail-function'

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

>     Times have moved on.  All other modern mail readers have moved on from
>     trying to use the local MTA to send email out, because the world has
>     changed.  These days, it's way more likely that you need to talk to your
>     ISPs local servers directly, and you need to fill out some credentials
>     tied to your account.
>
> If a client program can do that, why can't Exim do that?

Because SMTP is slowly moving towards a regime of per-user
authentication.

That is, to send someone email these days, you often have to provide a
user name and a password.  If you're the only one sending mail from your
machine, it's theoretically possible to configure exim to provide these
credentials to the upstream MTA.  (At least I think it's possible -- I
haven't actually checked.)  If there are two people sending email from
your machine, that obviously isn't what you want to do, what with the
password then being shared and stuff.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  bloggy blog http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no/