None of the Above (was Re: Sendmail still default?)

[Les Mikesell]

Bill Nottingham wrote:
> Les Mikesell (lesmikesell at gmail.com) said: 
>>> Once you're beyond the typical desktop use case, then yes, an MTA  
>>> probably makes sense. But that's not an argument for an MTA in the  
>>> default desktop install.
>> OK, if you really are so elitist that you think typical users can't  
>> figure out how to use standard programs, consider the case where you  
>> install the software for one of your incapable friends or family members  
>> and you'd like those impending failure warnings to come to you since the  
>> user won't understand them anyway.
> 
> Then you, the *administrator* of that machine (because, truly, that's
> your role) can configure it to do so. It doesn't mean it should do so
> out of the box.

But it is even more important for the more common case where the user is 
his own administrator.  The right way to handle that case is not to 
change it conceptually by re-inventing a less capable - and unexpected - 
message transport and storage facility, but to make the standard 
capability more obvious by adding a choice for the root alias at 
firstboot configuration and a mail notifier applet to the default 
desktop.  This gives you a configuration that both an administrator and 
a first-time user can understand and use, and even the first-time user 
will see that the capabilities are better than he'd have on a stock MS 
windows box.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
     lesmikesell at gmail.com