What one should know if planning to start public mail service

[Belucci]

Since I have spare VPS and domains I'm considering to start offering free mail service.

1. Are there any risks associated with it? I suppose the biggest care will be spammers taking advantage of the smtp server, but I plan to set limit of mails per user per day. Are there other risks?

2. is it resource intensive? (web mail and imap, pop3, smtp)

3. What package you would recommend me to use?

 

[Steven F]

Maybe, since you're not too knowledgable when it comes to e-mail, you should just host your own e-mail.

 

[willie]

There is a subforum about running email services at emaildiscussions.com. 

Overall it seems like a big hassle because of likely user expectations, abuse from outgoing spam, dealing with filtering for incoming spam, etc.  Spam filtering (e.g. with spamassassin) is in fact relatively cpu heavy.  It might not be suitable for a small vps serving multiple users with domain wildcards or the like.

 

[wlanboy]

Please don't offer one until you can ensure that no user of your server can send massive emails through your ip.

 

[AlphaNine_Vini]

To provide a public email address wont be a good idea if you dont have enough staff to monitor threats on your network. Why you are looking public email address. There are already enough player in web space. For example Gmail, MSN and Yahoo! . It's better if you look forward to provide some niche services in email hosting. That will be a good out come for you. If you are just looking to make some good money from  Advertising. Then its not a good idea.

 

[Belucci]

Actually I'm looking to provide it for free.

That's why I'm asking here to see if the hassle will be too much for me to handle.

So far most people are saying I shouldn't do it, but without providing solid arguments

 

[wlanboy]

So far most people are saying I shouldn't do it, but without providing solid arguments

You should read the posts again.

To name four:

• You will get at least 90% abuse which then leads to a termination of your server.
• You will cause a lot of spam emails. Your IP will get blacklisted within days. Which then leads to a termination of your server.
• You will get a lot of [email protected] mails. Lottery, identity theft, deception, child p....
• You won't get a lot of real customers that like yourdomain.com as their email address.

We don't want to destroy your dream to become an email provider.

We don't want to not grant you something.

Hey we even provide (private use only).

We just want to protect you from a lot of trouble.

 

[William]

Don't.

 

[vRozenSch00n]

I agree with @wlanboy. That's why back in 2005 my free e-mail project only last for a month

 

[Belucci]

I see and thank you for the concern, but won't limiting your user to some number of emails per day fix the spam issue?

 

[drmike]

I see and thank you for the concern, but won't limiting your user to some number of emails per day fix the spam issue?

Yes limiting per hour and per day will deter the idiots and prove mostly not worth their time.

Common tactic employed in most places.

 

[Belucci]

Yes limiting per hour and per day will deter the idiots and prove mostly not worth their time.

Common tactic employed in most places.

Well how the non-idiots would go around it though?

 

[willie]

Well how the non-idiots would go around it though?

Main thing is if it's a free service they will enroll 1000s of accounts and use each to the limit.  Forget about IP matching, they will use botnets.  Forget about captcha or confirmation to existing email, they have ways around that.  More free email services is the last thing anyone needs, especially with advertising involving scanning email content.  It's not only annoying and invasive to the person seeing the ads--it invades the privacy of the person sending the email (who never signed up with the service), to have it scanned for advertising purposes.  I hate sending mail to gmail accounts for that reason.

If you want to run an email service, make it like mxroute or fastmail, i.e. zero advertising, high emphasis on privacy, and charge money for it.

 

[Belucci]

There won't be ads.

I need to figure out how to keep the spammers away then

 

[willie]

There won't be ads.

I need to figure out how to keep the spammers away then

No fees and no ads = no revenue = no sustainability = no thanks.  People who sign up for email and give out their addresses don't want the address to stop working when the operator gets bored.  I like mxroute.com's approach where you have to bring your own domain.  If you did it like that, it might be more interesting.

 

[raindog308]

No fees and no ads = no revenue = no sustainability = no thanks. 

This.  You will start it, it will become a hassle, you will drop it.  Like a hundred high school kids before you.

And what exactly are you going to offer that a hundred other free email providers don't already offer?  I can get a bajillion free email addresses.  The only people who will be interested in your service are spammers.

Think up something new and don't waste your time being the 1,000th copy of something.

 

[Belucci]

Who the fuck is asking you about that?

How about you don't worry about this and if you don't have something relevant to the thread go preach your unasked for advices to someone that cares?

 

[Darwin]

You need to cool off a bit.

He was giving real advice, not being a jerk. Btw, if you are not prepared to have an idea criticized, you shouldn't have post it.

Don't forget what wlanboy wrote:

We don't want to destroy your dream to become an email provider.

We don't want to not grant you something.

Hey we even provide (private use only).

We just want to protect you from a lot of trouble.

 

[Belucci]

So, when you ask for apples and they give you oranges that's still a real advice?

I'm well prepared for relevant criticism. What they do is irelevant and simply stupid.

Also take a look at the 3 simply put and well structured questions in the OP

How many posts here are actually addressing any of them? Yeah a couple, and just 1 of the questions.

The rest is crap.

 

[Aldryic C'boas]

You've received plenty of helpful advice and warnings.  You simply don't want to hear what they are saying.

Here's a dead-on reason why you shouldn't:  In you opening post, you asked questions that made it quite obvious you've never been an actual sysadmin.  No experience dealing with public services, no experience with the various services/daemons needed and what resources they'll consume.  You are missing vital knowledge necessary for running a public-accessible system, let alone one as important and intricate as email.

My advice to you would be hosting your *own* email first.  Then spend some time in the employ of a company that frequently deals with more relevant issues - such as security and privacy (two very important topics you didn't consider).  Once you have a bit of experience under your belt, and are willing to invest a good deal of time into learning, then you can consider a public hosting project.