On Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:08:16 AM Jason White via luv-main wrote:
That's an interesting observation. On the other side, it isn't hard to set up a "reputable" provider. I recently did so by configuring SPF, DKIM and DMARC on my mail server.
If you send several messages to the Linux Australia list that aren't replies to other messages (IE they will have their subject munged) then you will trigger a mass unsubscribe of people who use services like Hotmail and Gmail. That's what happened when I did that in January 2015.
I am nevertheless concerned by the centralization of mail services in the hands of large providers, and likewise the rise of large social networking sites which merge the features of mail, instant messaging, voice and video services, among others - all in a proprietary manner that lacks interoperability. Then there's the data mining which takes place to enable the social Web site operators to monetize the activities of their users.
I think that the merging is the most serious threat we face. Gmail is a good mail service. Hangouts is a good IM system which does voice and video in a seamless manner. This combined with the fact that they are setup by default on almost every Android device, available from the Apple app store, and much of the functionality is available in any web browser makes it a compelling service. Setting up a mail server for yourself that does everything you desire from the Gmail feature set isn't trivial for people like us. IM is hard, ejabberd seems to be the best option, it's fragile and doesn't have the features of Hangouts and Jabber doesn't have a significant userbase of people who can talk to you. VOIP and video calls is harder still as it requires better net access than you can get easily and cheaply in Australia and some significant effort to set things up. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/