We need a new subject- bug fixes

[Todd Zullinger]

Les Mikesell wrote:
>>It is documented directly within the configuration file.
> 
> In other words you have to already know where to look before you can
> find the change specific to the distribution.

Right, you have to know how to configure sendmail before you can begin
to configure it.  What class of moron^wsysadmin are you advocating
Fedora cater to in setting up a functional MTA able to send and
receive on the internet?  I find it to be quite wise that the daemon
is shipped with the minimum needed settings to allow it to operate.

By default, sendmail is needed on a Fedora box to accept mail
generated by cron jobs and such.  It does this quite well (and hence
isn't "broken" no matter how many times you repeat that mantra).

In order to configure sendmail to accept network connections, further
configuration is needed and the sysadmin should definitely read the
documentation.  If man sendmail doesn't answer the question of how to
configure sendmail, then they read the other docs provided with the
package.  If they find that sendmail is hard to configure, then they
can look for another MTA.  They can also submit patches to sendmail
so that the man pages are more explicit if they desire.

The same goes for the Fedora packages.  I happen to agree that it
wouldn't be bad to have the steps needed to enable sendmail to receive
mail from the network somewhere easier to find.  It used to be in the
release notes, which is likely a little more prominent than it needs
to be...

As I don't use sendmail at all (having long ago decided that it's
configuration was made of pure crack), I don't have any interest in
submitting patches upstream or to Fedora's sendmail maintainer(s).
But perhaps you would be interested in doing so as you seem to be very
convinced that this behavior should be changed or at least better
documented.

BTW, did you ever file any bugs since the last time this was discussed
to death?  It'd be handy to have them here for reference the next time
this comes up.

-- 
Todd        OpenPGP -> KeyID: 0xBEAF0CE3 | URL: www.pobox.com/~tmz/pgp
======================================================================
When I think about all the crap I learned in high school ... it's a
wonder I can think at all.
    -- Paul Simon

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