Ask HN: Why do some of the engineers/hackers manage their own mail servers? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Why do some of the engineers/hackers manage their own mail servers?

#11

Post by kayman » Mon, May 18, 2015, 4:25 AM UTC

Email is a fundamental part of the internet. It is a protocol that is good enough to perform most tasks and has stood the test of time.

Setting up your own email server will teach you the fundamental building blocks of managing a server and all the protocols involved.

To run one reliably, it takes skill.

And it's nice geek credentials..I run my own email server :)

Re: Ask HN: Why do some of the engineers/hackers manage their own mail servers?

#12

Post by wiml » Mon, May 18, 2015, 5:47 AM UTC

I do because I've been running it since before gmail was a credible option, and it's really not difficult or very much work to run a small mail server for a few people.

I also don't like being dependent on a free service that could at any time have a policy shift I don't like. Or simply be shut down; unlikely as that seems for gmail, the internet is littered with the corpses of services that seemed solid until they weren't.

Re: Ask HN: Why do some of the engineers/hackers manage their own mail servers?

#13

Post by codeonfire » Mon, May 18, 2015, 7:34 AM UTC

Why do most corporations run their own email servers and domains? For the same reasons. Engineers know how companies that provide email services really run behind the scenes. Companies do whatever the fuck they want and lie about it. They employ questionable people. You just see the good, happy end user side of it. Without substantial auditing and a strong contract there is no reason to trust something as simple as email services to a third party.

Re: Ask HN: Why do some of the engineers/hackers manage their own mail servers?

#14

Post by mobiplayer » Mon, May 18, 2015, 8:28 AM UTC

joezydeco wrote: post #7

I was fortunate enough to lock in my last name as a domain, so I have first@last.com as my primary address. Sure looks a lot better in my correspondence and on my resume. I just host it via Google hosted domains, it's worth the $5/month.

So you don't manage your own mail server :)

Re: Ask HN: Why do some of the engineers/hackers manage their own mail servers?

#15

Post by mobiplayer » Mon, May 18, 2015, 8:42 AM UTC

I used to have my own, self-hosted at home on the same computer I used for everything else. It was about learning mostly, I was like 19 years old and had plenty of time on my hands.

If I were to do it now it'll be just to keep my archived mail out of someone else's servers. However, I do trust my current email provider. At the moment I feel like I get much more benefit short and long term by using these people's mail service.