Hi, There seems to be some descrepancy in how policy about /etc/mailname is interpreted, and I can see that the policy is vague.
I believe that /etc/mailname should be the host part of the e-mail address. Postfix, sendmail, reportbug, and most other programs I've used treat it that way. The Exim4 maintainer believes that /etc/mailname should instead be the hostname as visible in Received lines. In my case, I want fritz.complete.org to be in Received, and complete.org in From lines. Exim4 expects fritz.complete.org to be in /etc/mailname, and thus messes up all sorts of other programs. The Exim4 maintainer would like clarficiation in policy about this issue. Any thoughts? On Mon, Jun 20, 2005 at 11:30:37PM +0200, Marc Haber wrote: > tags #315128 wontfix > severity #315128 wishlist > retitle #315128 /etc/mailname issues, raised after release of sarge > thanks > > Hi, > > On Mon, Jun 20, 2005 at 12:53:12PM -0500, John Goerzen wrote: > > The file /etc/mailname is used to form the default host part of e-mail > > addresses in the From line of various programs. For instance, debchange > > -i will use it for its changelog messages. reportbug uses it for bug > > reports. Many programs use it. > > Right. Exim4 uses it to qualify the From: (envelope and header). > > > exim4-config is generating a bad /etc/mailname that leads to many > > troubles. > > What exactly is a bad /etc/mailname? There is a Debconf question > asking about the mailname, and what is entered there ends up in > /etc/mailname. > > > I remember submitting a bug about this before, but I can't > > find it. Also, exim4-config's behavior is completely at odds with the > > other MTAs in Debian, such as postfix or sendmail. > > Well, we tried to find out what the other MTAs do, with quite > disappointing success. > > > On my system, its hostname is fritz.complete.org and the mailname should > > be complete.org. The name fritz.complete.org can appear in Received > > headers and the like, but [EMAIL PROTECTED] is NOT a valid > > e-mail address at all. > > > > After going through exim4's configuration, it set up /etc/mailname to be > > fritz.complete.org, although it is properly using complete.org in > > headers it generates itself. However, this bad /etc/mailname value is > > leading other programs to use the wrong headers. > > > > Worse, a grep through /etc/exim4 couldn't find an instance of > > /etc/mailname, so I know exim4 is using it somehow, but I can't figure > > out where. > > Take a look in ./conf.d/rewrite/31_exim4-config_rewriting. > Additionally, /usr/sbin/update-exim4.conf uses the file's contents. > > This being said: Debian policy is more than unclear on how > /etc/mailname should be handled. We tried to solicit opinions, but > most of the other MTA maintainers didn't bother to comment in the wiki > page we created. > > I think that I even asked for comments on debian-devel, pointing to > the wiki page http://wiki.debian.net/?EtcMailName. You have commented > back then, but didn't follow up again. > > I am afraid that the exim4 packages are not going to change unless > there is formal policy requiring us to change. There is too many > chance for bad breakage during upgrades. We might have been able to > change in fall 2004, but now, with sarge out of the door and exim4 > being installed on many systems out there, I seriously doubt that the > packages are going to change their behavior unless absolutely required. > > Please, get Policy amended, /etc/mailname needs to be defined. > > Greetings > Marc > > -- > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Marc Haber | "I don't trust Computers. They | Mailadresse im Header > Mannheim, Germany | lose things." Winona Ryder | Fon: *49 621 72739834 > Nordisch by Nature | How to make an American Quilt | Fax: *49 621 72739835 > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
