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I used to work as a UNIX admin, so having a home OpenBSD box to handle mail seemed like a requirement. I ran qmail and djbdns, under daemontools, because there
by rikkus 12y ago
I used to work as a UNIX admin, so having a home OpenBSD box to handle mail seemed like a requirement. I ran qmail and djbdns, under daemontools, because there was nothing else as secure, nothing else 'properly' designed (I agreed with the design principles behind the software) and nothing else as easy to administer (I really don't like m4).
I spent a long time trying to understand why DJB's software wasn't considered the gold standard and installed by default on all Linuxes and BSDs. I read lots about arrogance, but couldn't see any - I could only see a commitment to solid software.
Eventually the only theory I was left with was that perhaps the 'UNIX way' was something people didn't really understand, or didn't want to invest time into understanding. I'll draw a parallel with vi editor[s]: Those who invest time into understanding the vi philosophy are happy working with it and would rather not use anything else. Others think they (we - you might have guessed I'm a vi user) are somehow ultra geeky or hardcore. Maybe this is why there's a preference for server software with a shorter learning curve, too.
The thing I really didn't 'get' was that to me, djb's tools had no learning curve, because they work 'the UNIX way'. Perhaps this is why those who like[d] his software never made their voice heard enough, or did the work, to get them into mainstream distributions: They don't understand why others don't see that they're great.
There could be other reasons. For example: I gave up running my own mail server when I got sick of dealing with spam and couldn't find a decent web interface. I think squirrelmail was the best I could find at the time and gmail was so much better. Sorry, squirrelmail! Perhaps it was easier to integrate anti-spam software with other mail servers. Perhaps I never found out because I refused to use other mail servers, having seen all the security advisories. Maybe my refusal to consider 'insecure' software meant I was blind to the advantages of sendmail and postfix, rather than simply others being blind to the advantages of qmail.
- SixSigma 12y ago> I spent a long time trying to understand why DJB's software wasn't considered the gold standard and installed by default on all Linuxes and BSDs. His license had a "no modifications" clause, for one thing.
- badpenny 12y agoThat and the fact they decidedly don't work "the UNIX way".
- pixl97 12y agoBy that description, no popular software was working 'the UNIX way' in the '90s and '00s. I avoiding dealing with the abominations of Sendmail and Named for that reason.
- badpenny 12y agoI should have also stated that it's not necessarily a bad thing, it just makes certain things (e.g. creating packages) more cumbersome/involved.
- simtel20 12y agoSimple processes that perform a well-defined job. Programs which can be easily modified by people other than the developer. Composable pieces. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy. What is the unix way from your perspective?
- tedunangst 12y agoPerhaps it was "too unix". Too simple processes performing too narrowly specified jobs. It made the whole apparatus difficult to put into operation because of all the moving parts. It'd be like a precision watch that keeps great time, but if somebody just handed you a box of 300 springs and gears, you'd probably prefer a quartz crystal.
- wampus 12y agoEven when it was popular, you had to compile qmail from source after applying third-party patches to provide necessary features. For sites that wanted to leverage a distribution's package manager for seamless integration and security updates, this was a huge barrier to entry.
- iolothebard 12y agoI switched to qmail when I had an exchange server (early 2000s) that I spent days trying to figure out a configuration problem which finally lead me to emailing MS Support. Their suggestion was to just back everything up and reinstall. Sometimes that would fix it. I spent the next 2 days meticulously setting up my RHL/Qmail server and never had an issue. Ran like a champ until that startup died.