[Discuss] Running a mail server, or not

[smallm at sdf.org (Mike Small)]

Derek Martin <invalid at pizzashack.org> writes:
> The trick is usually access.  Like I have no way to SSH into my
> server at the moment...  Technically I can do it from my phone, but
> I've found trying to do anything non-trivial on the phone is extremely
> tedious and time consuming, so while it can be done, not in the amount
> of time that wouldn't be extremely awkward while you're dealing with a
> sales clerk or whatever...

This reminds me of having to dig out an airline email at a Jet Blue gate
in DC. The woman at the gate needed a confirmation code for a
rescheduled flight before she could assign me a seat. She seemed very
bright but was also really impatient (two that often go together). Here
I was fumbling around sshing to my shell account, starting emacs + Gnus
and trying to get to the email with the code, when she gets fed up and
makes me hand over the phone. I started to try to warn her that it was
different, unix, mumble mumble, but she brushes that aside saying, "what
were you doing, space to scroll? Okay here it is... type, type, type,
have a nice day... next."

It is awkward. But with the right shell aliases on the phone side and
the right emacs macros (to quickly save off attachments) on the email
client side I think it can be made bearable. Or probably I should just
go find the instructions on sdf for setting up an IMAP client and
install one on the phone. One of these days.

-- 
Mike Small
smallm at sdf.org