this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2023
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All this new excitement with Lemmy and federation has got me thinking that maybe I should learn to run my own instance. What always comes up though is how email is the orginal federated technology.

I am looking at proxmox and see that is has a built in email server, so now I am wondering if it is time to role my own.

I stopped using gmail a long time ago, and right now I use ProtonMail, but I am super frustrated with the dumb limitation of only having a single account for the app. I get why they do it, and I am willing to pay, but it is pricey and I don't know if that is my best option. I guess it is worth it since ProtonVPN is included. It looks like they are expanding their suite.

Is it worth it? Can I make it secure? Is it stupid to run it off a local computer on my home network?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Very interesting. Thanks for the follow up.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't. But I do have my domain and use a hosted solution, so I'm kind of independent and own my data.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

That sounds like the right middle ground for me. I know for sure my home network is not as secure as it could be, especially since I live with people who need everything online to work without obstacles. I can't even install PiHole.

But, hosting is probably more affordable in a year than the amount I might spend on coffee in a week. And I typically make my own coffee.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I used to. I had a docker-mailserver. It was good. But I moved house and changed ISP. I couldn't set up the reverse DNS on my address, and Gmail was blocking me, so I had to switch to a hosted mail server (namecheap private email).

It's a shame, syncing is noticably slower, and I only get one mailbox, but oh well. Just keep on using GPG.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

there are many replies saying similar things, but don't be discouraged from try it out. i host my own with mailinabox on a vm from a cloud provider. no spam issues. the only wildcard was spending a few months getting my ip address off google's spam filters. it is so worth it, i own my own email/calendar/contacts/notes/todo list/ AND website solution. all with mailinabox. completely disconnected from google etc.

[–] cvr 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Did you ever manage to get off hotmail/outlook spam filters? I ran my own server for years and had no issues with gmail, but was never able to reliably send to hotmail. That was the nail in the coffin in the end as so many businesses I communicate with were on outlook and my mail would always goto spam causing endless issues.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

The more I learn about FOSS the more I understand it is just not about using open auditable software, but about having complete ownership of the technology a person uses. I need to learn these things.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I run a complete ISP style setup with multiple domains. I run it from a rented server at Hetzner, so i don't have problems with being black listed for sending from a consumer IP.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Nice! I appreciate the guide! Even if I end up using a premade solution, knowing how everything works will help me be smarter about the choices I make.

Thank you.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I've thought about rolling my own email service, but I'm hesitant given the risk of it inadvertently nuking the rest of my network. There's a lot of work needed to keep the thing secure, and even if you do everything right there's a good chance you get SMTP traffic blocked because other services are worried about unknown accidentally hosting spammer networks.

Plus given my prior track record, there is a $1000% chance I screw up the DNS entries for any mail servers I set up.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

@[email protected] I do, it is a pain and I understand why it is not worth for some people.

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