Keith Keller wrote: > If you believe that I have been helpful in the past, isn't the simplest > explanation that it's possible I'm being helpful now? No. You were offensive. Nothing you said was of the slightest help. >> I give you the same answer - if you believe the TASK of postfix >> is difficult to understand, explain why. > > It is difficult to understand because two of postfix's primary tasks are > to implement SMTP and deliver mail safely. > Both of these tasks are > themselves difficult to do well, especially SMTP, a service widely > targeted by attackers which offers little in the way of authentication. Read the question again. more carefully. The TASK of postfix is fairly easy to understand, not the IMPLEMENTATION. The Prime Number Theorem is easy to state; it is hard to prove. >> It is not necessary to understand how the internal combustion engine >> works in order to drive a car; and there is no evidence that those who do >> know make better drivers. > In this analogy, drivers == email users. If you are running an SMTP > server, you're a mechanic, *not* a driver! If you don't want to > understand how a car works, you shouldn't be a mechanic. Every Linux user is a system administrator. -- Timothy Murphy e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland