solarbird | i hate mail

iOS's mail application doesn't try to authenticate smtp connections unless it's forced to. (apparently.) if it can attempt to send mail without AUTHing, it will, and nothing you can do seems to change that. failure to actually be able to send mail doesn't make it go, "huh, mebbe I should AUTH."

if your sendmail server behaviour changes based on authentication (specifically, to act like a smarthost and allow relays it otherwise wouldn't), this fucks you for sending mail from your iphone.

setting up a second host with exim4 to get around this means trying to get exim4 to acknowledge the concept of AUTH in response to an EHLO in ANY FUCKING WAY WHATSOEVER. which is supposed to be trivial but is instead INSANITY IN A SHELL. NOTHING I've done results in AUTH coming online. much less being required. fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

no reports or errors, of course. it's just insert coin, say hokaydo! and then change NOTHING WHATSOEVER.

hey, exim4 fans, you got anything here? i didn't think anything in the world could make me go, "y'know, sendmail docs are pretty clear," until I started poking around at exim4. at least, if you want to do anything that isn't handled by the six-screen eximconfig script. which this most definitely isn't.

(i want _some_ damn thing to pick up for smtp over ssh, _require_ auth, then relay whatever it gets to our actual mail server, all so we can fucking send mail from these phones, before I kill everyone. apparently that's hard. YES I WOULD INSTALL SENDMAIL except the fucking package manager won't let me change MTAs without uninstalling the webserver, which is a whole 'nother can of FUUUUUUUUUCK YOUUUUUUUUUU. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH KJSHE FLKHWEFLIUH LEFIUFS)

i'm going to bed now. somebody be a dear and hand me the large animal tranquillisers. thanks.