term. The term is
relay server.
Here's an article:
What is a relay server?
Basically, the article
seems to be saying the
following:
- Relay errors are
the most common problem
when sending emails
via a program on a
Microsoft server. - If it is a 550 error,
it is, in all probability,
a relay error
Sometimes the hardest thing
to figure out when you are
having computer problems
is to figure out what to
call your problem.
I now know what to call my
problem. I have a relay
error problem.
This is a new term to me as
formmail programs running under
Linux seem to be much more
liberal about relaying email.
The key phrase here is
seem to be. Relaying
email has long been a problem.
Here's a Wikipedia article
about open email relays:
Open Mail Relay
My misconception has been that
Linux mail servers tend to rely
on methods other than refusing
to relay the email altogether.
More and more, I think I'm wrong
about this. I realize that
pretty much all mail servers
these days have restrictions
on relaying email.
The Wikipedia article above has
convinced me of this.
I'm certainly very sympathetic to
any hosting company that does not
wish for their mail servers to be
used as an open spam relay.
Spam is such a disaster for us all.
For a hosting company, spam is a
double-disaster. Not only do they
have to deal with it, but it can
also effectively shut down the
hosting company itself.
Too much spam originating from
a certain hosting company can
result in the hosting company
being blocked by others.
If this post sounds confused,
it is because I'm still a little
bit confused.
Basically, I'm a little bit
confused by the fact that under
Linux, I've not encountered
this problem before.
When using NMS FormMail, it seems
to me that I'm able to relay email
without having problems.
Why do I think this way?
Well, I guess it is maybe because
I've never tried to send the email
anywhere but to a valid email
address that ends in the domain name
of the website itself.
In other words, I've always sent
email to my-email@mydomain.com.
That is to say, I've never ventured
beyond the website domain.
My ignorance is showing here. It's
amazing how long I've gone letting
such a simple little thing pass me
by.
I had no idea when I started working
on this how many different directions
it would take me.
This has been a very humbling
experience.
I continue my investigation into
ASP FormMail here:
ASP FormMail, Part VII
Ed Abbott
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