Modern email can be built from borrowed parts

Post by inigyou » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 11:03 AM UTC

andros wrote: post #22

aboardRat4 wrote: post #20

Self-ejecting panels on three sides of the website are a horrible user experience. Other than that... The most important thing is not the protocol, it's the gui. At the moment email's gui is horrible on all platforms without exception. If/when a decent gui appears, protocols will follow. Also, JMAP did reading can probably be just WebDAV?

GUIs cannot be built either before or during the specification of a protocol. In fact, this is the part that should have the least weight. There are important steps, such as system auditing or making design decisions (like certificate rotation), that are not addressed. However, the goal is not to replace SMTP/IMAP, but rather to show how modern tools, when properly assembled, can replace older protocols with serious…

Post by inigyou » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 11:04 AM UTC

jfb wrote: post #36

I like that the author at least head fakes towards postage, which is how spam gets solved, for real. It's far too late for SMTP, but I don't mind folks thinking hard about it.

Post by inigyou » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 11:08 AM UTC

jcgl wrote: post #117

mrsssnake wrote: post #62

Here is another, not so new, idea: Username is your public key, password is your private key. So we get end to end encryption and account ownership out of the box. Something similar to how .onion addresses work. Needing easy to remember addresses? Build aliases on top of that. Needing server-side automation? Handle trusted server your private key. Also, almost everyone carry a 24/7 powered and Internet connected devi…

Tightly coupling identity to cryptosystems should be entirely dismissed for anything that is supposed to have broad adoption. First off, these systems always require indefinitely-lived secrets. To rotate keys (or the whole cryptosystem—think future possible quantum computers) is to change identity. Therefore, to change keys is to break the previous identity. Anything that requires users to think about long-term secre…

Post by andros » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 11:38 AM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #131

andros wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GUIs cannot be built either before or during the specification of a protocol. In fact, this is the part that should have the least weight. There are important steps, such as system auditing or making design decisions (like certificate rotation), that are not addressed. However, the goal is not to replace SMTP/IMAP, but rather to show how modern tools, when properly assembled, can replace older protocols with serious…

You have two systems. One has awesome certificate rotation and crap UI. One has crap certificate rotation and awesome UI. Which one will take over the world, and which one will only ever have 10 users?

Post by inigyou » Tue, Jul 28, 2026, 12:13 PM UTC

andros wrote: post #137

inigyou wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have two systems. One has awesome certificate rotation and crap UI. One has crap certificate rotation and awesome UI. Which one will take over the world, and which one will only ever have 10 users?

It's a false dichotomy; neither can survive in the long run. It's like asking yourself: would you prefer a car with a good engine but a bad steering wheel, or a car with good handling but a bad engine?