Postfix issue

[Giorgos Keramidas]

On Mon, 8 Sep 2008 04:33:14 -0700, David Southwell <david at vizion2000.net> wrote:
>On Monday 08 September 2008 03:57:11 you wrote:
>>On Mon, 8 Sep 2008 02:47:47 -0700, David Southwell <david at vizion2000.net> wrote:
>>> Could anyone tell me what entry I should make in postfix configuration
>>> files to bounce mails directed to root at mydomain that emanate from a
>>> source outside my local network.
>>>
>>> Sorry to ask the question here but postfix users mailing list is
>>> currently rejecting mails from servers on a dynamic ip address - so I
>>> cannot get through to ask a question there.
>>
>> I don't think that restriction is going to be lifted any time soon.  So
>> why are you not using your ISP to relay emails, using its mail gateway
>> (which should have a static IP address)?
>
> I think the restriction is OTT especially in the light of civil
> liberties issues.
>
> I do not like the fact that a number of governments (including most
> european ones) now have the right to access all emails that pass
> through an ISP's server. They do not have the right to access private
> server systems unless they have a warrant.

'Civil liberties' are only meaningful in the context of a specific
'civilization'.  Welcome to the civilization that allows spammers to use
dynamic IP addresses to disrupt, annoy, cause harm, commit commercial
and all other sorts of fraud.  It is not a perfect civilization, but
it's the one we have, and trying to hide our heads in the sand about the
*real* problem these restrictions are trying to solve isn't going to
make things much better any time soon now.

One may easily argue that the 'civil laws' that forbid stealing from
other people are 'limiting the freedom we have to use the potentially
boundless resources available all over the place'.  I don't think anyone
would consider the argument in favor of stealing as very sound.

The same can be said of the IP address space.  One can argue for days,
for weeks, or even _years_, that requiring a static IP address to be
able to post to a 'common resource' --like the mailing list-- is a limit
to the freedom of everyone.  I'm not very convinced this limit is as bad
as you are trying to describe, though.  In particular, I am not really
convinced the 'freedom' of everyone to post from non-static IP addresses
is worth the immediate problems this would cause by massively increasing
the problems we have with spam mail even today.

Giorgos