Why is sendmail is part of the system and not a package?

[Giorgos Keramidas]

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:47:12 -0200, Gonzalo Nemmi <gnemmi at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Tuesday 27 October 2009 4:00:07 pm Giorgos Keramidas wrote:
>>   - Import your MTA of choice in a local branch.
>>   - Integrate the $NEWMTA with the base system of FreeBSD.
>>   - Update the manpages and documentation for $NEWMTA.
>>   - Submit the patches to the FreeBSD team for review.
>>   - Keep updating them as FreeBSD changes.
>>   - Maintain and keep the $NEWMTA in shape, by:
>>       + reimporting new releases
>>       + fixing any bugs that creep up
>>       + answering questions of the people who are in a (painful)
>>         transitional phase while the dust from $NEWMTA import settles
>>       + showing that you have a genuine interest to keep $NEWMTA in a
>>         functional, up to date, working condition
>>
>> This is a *lot* of work.  Don't be fooled into thinking that I am
>> ever implying it's going to be easy.  It will take time, patience, a
>> _lot_ of effort on the part of the submitter, and a sizable amount of
>> _time_.
>
> That's way outside of the scope of the OP question .. yet still:
>
> Wasn't ZFS (and isn't) a lot of work?
> Aren't DMA, OpenSMTP, OpenCVS, ULE a lot of work?
> Weren't OpenSSH, OpenSSL, SMP support a lot of work?
>
> Actually, I really have a hard time looking for something that wasn't,
> isn't, or will be a *lot* of work.
>
> Maybe we could ask Ed Schouten if his xterm-style emulator will or will
> not be a *lot* of work .. like to have an authoritative answer ...
>
> And since we are at it, wasn't translating the whole FreeBSD
> documentation into greek a *lot* of work Giorgos. Maybe you could
> provide us with an authoritative answer too.
>
> What wasn't that didn't stop you from doing it??

Yes, all this was a lot of work and it still is.  What I wrote is not in
the spirit of silencing anyone who wants to see Sendmail go.  It was a
description of how it _can_ be done.

>> But it is not impossible.  So, anyone who really _wants_ to do it, is
>> really both welcome to go ahead and certainly free to do it.
>
> Given the state of the "status quo" .. I really doubt anyone will stand
> up to take that task into his hands .. even if as a GSOC.

Back when we started to translate the Handbook to Greek, it seemed like
an impossibly huge task.  A humongous and scary task.  Something that
would probably *never* be complete and 'done'.

Ask our translators now.  After almost 8 years of chipping at the bits
here and there, we have a loosely organized team of people who actually
_like_ doing this sort of stuff.

So, anyone who is interested to see Sendmail go, should know that it is
going to be a large and time-consuming undertaking.  But they should
also know that it is not _impossible_.  All the projects you described
above, including the ones I'm affiliated with, were actually _made_
possible by sitting down and doing the work.

What I don't really like is arguing this way and that way, without any
intention of actually putting one's code where one's mouth is.  If we
can reduce _that_ and work on actual "patches" then the status quo can
change.

Until then, the status quo is here because it works, it has been stable
for a very long time, and it serves its current purpose "well enough".