Subject: Re: Setting up Mail and News in Linux

From: [email-masked] (Rob Funk)
Date: 14 Aug 1996 20:21:55 GMT

In article <[email-masked]>,
Paul Greene <[email-masked]> wrote:
>I've been able to send mail to myself using Pine (although it comes
>from "root <root (none)>").

Um, you should probably be using a normal account, not root.

> I can't figure out, though, how to
>retrieve mail from my ISP.

popclient.

Latest version is at http://locke.ccil.org/~esr/esr-freeware.html, but
you probably have an older version on your machine already.

> I don't understand from the instructions in
>this documentation how to set up the "mail transport agent".

Sendmail.  Don't wade into this until you have simpler things working.

>What transport agent would be appropriate for me to use (Sendmail,
>smail, lmail, deliver)

I don't know about lmail, but deliver isn't a transport agent; it just
delivers on the local machine.  I use sendmail because it is extremely
flexible.

> (My struggle with a lot of Linux
>documentation is that it seems to assume a certain level of Unix or
>Linux experience which I don't have.)

Learn Unix before trying to configure a Unix machine.  Really.

> The usage is simply a dial up
>PPP connection, with a stand alone Linux computer not connected to any
>network.

Have you read the Linux-ISP HOWTO?  (I may have the name slightly
wrong, but ISP is the point.)  I disagree with some of its
recommendations, but it's a good starting point.

> Also, how do you get Pine to start communicating with the
>transport agent ? 

Actually, in your case it's probably better to tell pine to use your
ISP's SMTP server, at least until you get sendmail running nicely.

>While getting the mail connection up and going, and testing the
>system, I would like to be able to have the mail stay on the ISP's
>server and not get deleted when I download it. After it's working fine
>and seems reliable, I would then like to have the mail deleted after
>retrieving it to my own computer.

man popclient.  Look for the "-k" option.

>Any sympathizers out there who can help me out ?

I'm actually in the early stages of writing something to help with
your problems (your questions are very common, and I'm unsatisfied
with many of the solutions being recommended), but I don't expect to
have anything done for a few months.

>P.S. A final note: I also have some questions regarding getting Usenet
>up and running on the same machine; is this an appropriate newsgroup
>for those kind of questions ? If not, where would be a good place to
>try ?

Check news.software.nntp and the Linux News HOWTO.  You might also
want to see comp.os.linux.setup -- it would be more appropriate than
comp.mail.pine, although the traffic is pretty high and there are
probably more questions than answers there.

-- 
=========== R o b  F u n k ===========|===========> [email-masked] <===========
  Guildenstern: "So there you are."   [email-masked]
  Rosencrantz:  "Stark raving sane."  [email-masked]
 (Tom Stoppard, Ros. & Guil. Are Dead)|http://er4www.eng.ohio-state.edu/~funkr

---

From: [email-masked] (Paul Greene)
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 1996 02:29:23 GMT

(Warning; this question is from a sincere, but ignorant, Linux
beginner; assume the following questions are going to sound like he
doesn't know what he's doing)

I would like to use a Linux box for cruising the Internet. I've
figured out how to get the PPP connection going and can use the
Internet browser included with the version of Linux I've got (Redhat
2.1 with Arena for a browser).

I've been able to send mail to myself using Pine (although it comes
from "root <root (none)>"). I can't figure out, though, how to
retrieve mail from my ISP. I've read the "Mail HOW-TO" (at least 3
times) and have the Linux Network Administrators Guide but, frankly it
doesn't make sense to me. I don't understand from the instructions in
this documentation how to set up the "mail transport agent".

What I'd like to know is :

What transport agent would be appropriate for me to use (Sendmail,
smail, lmail, deliver) and where could I get some good succinct
instructions about how to set it up ? (My struggle with a lot of Linux
documentation is that it seems to assume a certain level of Unix or
Linux experience which I don't have.) The usage is simply a dial up
PPP connection, with a stand alone Linux computer not connected to any
network. Also, how do you get Pine to start communicating with the
transport agent ? 

Paul Greene