Re: Outgoing mail defaults

[Ted Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com>]

On Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:11:45 -0400 Chong Yidong <cyd@stupidchicken.com> wrote: 

CY> Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org> writes:
>> 1) change the defaults to use smtpmail
>> 
>> 2) change smtpmail so that it queries the user for SMTP host name (and
>> possibly port number)
>> 
>> 3) use customize to save the user's reply

CY> These sound like the right thing to do, indeed.  Anyone feel like
CY> implementing it?

(CC-ed to the Gnus mailing list also)

I offered to implement it and gave example code of how auth-source could
be used to do it (so it would get and store the user name, password,
port number, and host name).  Can you look at that earlier in the
thread?  I can change it if you think it needs to be improved in any
way, especially as far as the prompts go.

Lars was concerned this was too complicated for the case where the user
only wants to give a host name and everything else is unnecessary.  In
that case it seems indeed that a simple defcustom is an easier solution,
but I'm concerned that next will come "oh can we just have the port
customizable too... and the user name... and the password... and several
sets of connection parameters depending on the location" and again we're
back where we were before auth-source: data in Emacs Lisp (defcustoms or
not), all over the place, unencrypted, with ad hoc syntax.  So instead
I'd like to make it possible to have the line

machine mysmtphost port smtp

in the authinfo.gpg file.  I would do this by changing the example code
to start with "does your SMTP host need authentication?" and if no, do
the simple setup; if yes, do the full setup.

The other idea I had was that some people just don't want an authinfo
file.  They want to store everything in Lisp.  So for those cases I can
make a "data" auth-source backend which reads/writes using variables
that are saved with the Customize facilities.  First-time auth-source
users can then get the choice between the Secrets API (most secure,
least portable); a authinfo file (fairly secure if EPA/EPG is available,
portable); or the "data" backend (least secure, most portable).

If you don't want to do this and would prefer to just do a defcustom I
can write that too, as Lars' proposal went originally.

Let me know what you think.  Thanks.
Ted