MailRoadmap

Differences between revisions 11 and 12
⇤ ← Revision 11 as of 2005-04-28 02:28:01 →
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Editor: intern146
Comment: yeah, back to authors. DraftSpecification.
← Revision 12 as of 2005-04-28 03:00:44 → ⇥
Size: 4918
Editor: intern146
Comment: package list,schedule
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  * Status: BreezyGoal, UduBof, DistroSpecification, DraftSpecification, LaMonJonesQueue, JeffBaileyQueue[[BR]]   * Status: BreezyGoal, UduBof, DistroSpecification, DraftSpecification, ColinCharlesQueue[[BR]]
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 * Prepare list of packages which expect an MTA, for what purpose, and determine how to eliminate the dependancy.  * During May:
  * Prepare list of packages which expect an MTA, for what purpose, and determine how to eliminate the dependancy.
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 * Move `exim` and `postfix` to ship seed.   * Reenable questions in Postfix.
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 * Make sure all instances of `Depends: exim | mail-transport-agent`, gets changed to `Depends: postfix | mail-transfer-agent` or dropped completely.   * Move `exim` and `postfix` to ship seed.
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 * Ensure that mails for insignificant things like dangling symlinks are quenched.   * Make sure all instances of `Depends: exim | mail-transport-agent`, gets changed to `Depends: postfix | mail-transfer-agent` or dropped completely.
  * Debconf question for mbox or Maildir, ask it once, place the answer in `/etc/mailbox-format`
 * After May:
  * Ensure that mails for insignificant things like dangling symlinks are quenched.
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 * Integrate with `update-notifier` to deliver remaining critical notices.   * Integrate with `update-notifier` to deliver remaining critical notices.
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 * Reenable questions in Postfix.   * Ensure that release notes clearly say how to install ''lsb'' package.
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 * Ensure that release notes clearly say how to install ''lsb'' package.   * Delivery into homedir by default ([http://www.ubuntu.com/wiki/MailStorageStandardisation MailStorageStandardisation])
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 * Debconf question for mbox or Maildir, ask it once, place the answer in `/etc/mailbox-format`   * Move any mail using application that cannot support both mbox and Maildir to universe.
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 * Delivery into homedir by default ([http://www.ubuntu.com/wiki/MailStorageStandardisation MailStorageStandardisation])

 * Move any mail using application that cannot support both mbox and Maildir to universe.

 * Ensure that default maildir path is set to `~/.maildir/`		   * Ensure that default maildir path is set to `~/.maildir/`
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 * TBD list of packages in desktop that depend on mail-transport-agent

 * TBD list of packages in base that depend on mail-transport-agent

 * TBD list of packages in main that depend on exim* | mail-transport-agent		  * `anacron`
 * `backuppc`
 * `courier-imap`
 * `courier-pop`
 * `cron`
 * `cyrus21-common`
 * `fetchmail`
 * `lsb`
 * `mailman`
 * `mailx`
 * `moin`
 * `mutt`
 * `procmail`
 * `reportbug`
 * `subversion-tools`
 * `ubuntu-base`

Mail Roadmap

Status

Introduction

Unix systems traditionally assume that mail to various accounts on the local system is being read, sent from, etc. On an Ubuntu desktop system, this generally isn't the case.

Spam bad, mmkay?

There are two common formats of storing mail on a Unix system: mbox and Maildir. mbox is the older generation with several known issue, such as locking, corruption, and size. Maildir is a newer format defined by Daniel Bernstein (djb) that addresses these three limitations.

Rationale

An end-user configuring their Evolution mail client will never be aware that email is accumulating in their local account warning them of various system events.

Spam bad, mmkay?

Various implementation of MTA and spam processing applications have varying levels of support for mbox and Maildir. For seamless integration of these, we need to chose a single default.

Scope and Use Cases

  • Grandma Sue has a harddrive that is failing. She needs to be notified that this is happening.

  • Spam bad, mmkay?

  • In a server environment, our preferred pop3, imap4 and mail reading solutions should all work together automatically when installed.

Implementation Plan

  • During May:
    • Prepare list of packages which expect an MTA, for what purpose, and determine how to eliminate the dependancy.
    • Reenable questions in Postfix.

    • Move exim and postfix to ship seed.

    • Make sure all instances of Depends: exim | mail-transport-agent, gets changed to Depends: postfix | mail-transfer-agent or dropped completely.

    • Debconf question for mbox or Maildir, ask it once, place the answer in /etc/mailbox-format

  • After May:
    • Ensure that mails for insignificant things like dangling symlinks are quenched.

    • Integrate with update-notifier to deliver remaining critical notices.

    • Ensure that release notes clearly say how to install lsb package.

    • Delivery into homedir by default ([http://www.ubuntu.com/wiki/MailStorageStandardisation MailStorageStandardisation])

    • Move any mail using application that cannot support both mbox and Maildir to universe.

    • Ensure that default maildir path is set to ~/.maildir/

Data Preservation and Migration

The user may have mail already collecting in the mailbox on the system. We will never recover this data.

Packages Affected

  • anacron

  • backuppc

  • courier-imap

  • courier-pop

  • cron

  • cyrus21-common

  • fetchmail

  • lsb

  • mailman

  • mailx

  • moin

  • mutt

  • procmail

  • reportbug

  • subversion-tools

  • ubuntu-base

User Interface Requirements

  • Debconf questions need to be readded for Postfix.
  • Need to prompt for preferred mailbox type at priority high. (No good default, but grandma should never be asked)

Outstanding Issues

  • Ongoing review of Free/Open Source Spam and virus prevention technologies with the goal of providing long term spam and virus solutions that extend across the life of the release.
  • Because effective spam filtering requires information only available at delivery time, and because spam scanning is resouce intensive, spam filtering should happen on the server not the client.

UDU BOF Agenda

  • What to do about automated mail

    • cron

    • debconf

    • sudo

    • ...
  • Spam filtering
  • Mail storage

UDU Pre-Work

  • Prepare list of packages which expect an MTA, for what purpose, and proposed alternative implementations

Suggestions/Notes

  • What about replacing the MTA with SSMTP and configure all clients to use that as the standard smtp "gateway"?
    • Unfortunately, since this would have ubuntu-base Depend: ssmtp, it causes some of the very problems we're attempting to eliminate.

UDU BOF Agenda

  • What to do about automated mail

    • cron

    • debconf

    • sudo

    • ...
  • Spam filtering
  • Mail storage

UbuntuDownUnder/BOFs/MailRoadmap (last edited 2008-08-06 16:19:13 by localhost)