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Path: sserve!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!simtel!news.kei.com!news.mathworks.com!uunet!news.sprintlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!Germany.EU.net!ieunet!maths.tcd.ie!maths.tcd.ie!not-for-mail From: bos@serpentine.com (Bryan O'Sullivan) Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: Slight flame from Linux user Date: 7 Jun 1995 22:53:18 +0100 Organization: Polymorphous Thaumaturgy Lines: 29 Sender: bosullvn@maths.tcd.ie Message-ID: <3r574e$dq5@bell.maths.tcd.ie> References: <3ql3gd$je2@bell.maths.tcd.ie> <D9K4Iz.BJM@midway.uchicago.edu> <3qo2af$nqo@bell.maths.tcd.ie> <3qq5i8$2jj@anshar.shadow.net> <3qqotb$sla@hamilton.maths.tcd.ie> <3qtgfi$7od@anshar.shadow.net> <3qtpa9$p95@bell.maths.tcd.ie> <SJA.95Jun7113536@lk-hp-16.hut.fi> <3r556h$cnj@bell.maths.tcd.ie> Reply-To: bosullvn@maths.tcd.ie NNTP-Posting-Host: bell.maths.tcd.ie tim@maths.tcd.ie (Timothy Murphy) writes: > If sendmail is hard to configure, it is because it is a bad program; > it has nothing at all to do with Unix. That is a somewhat nonsensical statement. Yes, sendmail is a piece of crud, and yes, it pertains to Unix. The reductionist approach of "Unix is just the kernel" may be satisfying, but it is neither based in fact nor useful as an axiom. For example, I could certainly replace sendmail with something that didn't lose so badly, if such a beast were to exist, but I can do the same with kernel loadable modules. In addition, sendmail has the same approach to usability as many other Unix tools. Its configuration language is obtuse; the online (i.e. not paper-based) documentation is lacking; and it all too frequently does the Wrong Thing -- or at least the Obscure and Unhelpful Thing -- when an error occurs. If nothing else, then, at least we have guilt by association. <b -- Let us pray: What a Great System. Please Do Not Crash. bos@serpentine.com ^G^IP@P6 http://www.serpentine.com/~bos