-----Original Message----- From: Simon Byrnand [mailto:simon(a)igrin.co.nz]
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Do paradise not allow the use of SMTP auth ? To be honest I can only ever see SPF becoming a viable solution if everybody who uses their email address in a "roaming" fashion uses SMTP auth. We've provided SMTP auth for a couple of years now, and it helps solve a lot of problems.
I've been testing it every so often for the last few years (I've been with Paradise for about 5 years), but never got it working. Never took it up with their helpdesk cause it's wasn't much of a bother. Perhaps it's time I did....
The classic ones being users switching back and forth between GPRS/Mobile Jetstream and a normal dialup on a laptop, and also using their email address from Jetstream with another ISP (often when they take their computer into work) enabling SMTP auth and using our smtp server solves all those problems in one stroke.
Yeah, I have this kind of issue. Multiple email addresses with multiple ISP's (and others like mail.com) and then switching between the office (Global Gateway), MobileJetstream (Xtra), JetStream (Xtra) and Dial-up (Paradise). I think Xtra are now supporting SMTP auth on a separate host (not their normal SMTP/POP3 servers I think), but until Paradise does...
My brain might not be fully engaged yet this morning, but what does xtra's SPF records have to do with you sending using a paradise email address ? Surely its paradise adding an spf record that would cause you problems relaying through xtra's mail server ?
Irk! Yes, you're right, since it's the domain in the MAIL FROM (SMTP command) address that is checked. Hmm... Reading (http://spf.pobox.com/faq.html#whichfield) suggests that the FROM: field should not be checked. Still, I guess it's only a matter of time before Xtra tidy up who can relay through them.
Yep. If you do a survey of various ISP's SMTP servers, you'll see that quite a number support it now, (with a few notable big name exceptions :) and regardless of whether SPF gets adopted I hope all ISP's see the light and start moving towards providing SMTP auth.... certainly they shouldn't start publishing strict SPF records without SMTP auth as a lot of their customers will get left out in the cold with no way to send their email reliably...
Regards, Simon
Agreed. A remarkable number aren't yet publishing SPF records at all... I guess everyone is sitting on the fence until it's either fully ratified or their hand is forced (e.g. Hotmail enforcing SPF). Later'ish Craig