Quack,
=== Mail System Redundancy ===
Our old antispam system has been shutdown and Toushirou has been
promoted to full MX1/MDA/MAA. This means we now have two machine
receiving mails, filtering spam and synchronizing with each-other (SIEVE
rules and antispam learning are synced too).
I just updated the DNS records so that
{smtp,mail,imap,pop,sieve}.duckcorp.org now balance between the two. So
if one machine is down, you should be able to retry to reach your mail
on the second machine.
The webmail is currently not redundant but we're working on it.
The mailing-lists will stay on Orfeo as there is currently no way to
make this service redundant.
=== Note about the Antispam ===
We had some user questions so I wanted to clarify a few things.
The new learning system is very similar to the previous one. The big
change is: from now on all learning is shared between users. This means
you benefits from SPAM caught by other users but it makes the learning
less personalized. It is difficult to evaluate what's best but per-user
learning made the system very complex and was very resource intensive so
we decided to try the shared method. Many well known big companies also
use shared training, so that new users don't start with a blank system
which would need weeks or months to be well trained and it seems to work
quite well.
Another important point is how to train the system. We simplified the
old system and the new one does not have a web interface for users
anyway. The 'Junk' folder (your mail client may translate the name) is
used to collect discovered SPAM. If you move mails into it you inform
the system it is a spam it should have caught. If you move a mail out of
it then you inform the system it made a mistake and this is not a spam.
To get detected SPAM automatically put into the 'Junk' folder there is a
default SIEVE filter. But if you added your own filters, then you need
to include the default rule into your configuration as explained here:
https://users.duckcorp.org/index.php/Services/Mail
This was done to allow users to override the default rule if they wanted
another workflow.
We're wondering if this has any real application and thinking about
making this rule compulsory (processed before any user filters). Your
input on this matter is welcome.
\\_o<
--
Marc Dequènes (Duck)
Quack,
=== New Antispam ===
Today is a special edition about mail. From September 2007 we've been
using DSPAM, a very nice piece of antispam technology. Instead of
neverending rules fiddling this system properly learns to recognize
unwanted mails. Unfortunately it has been more than four years that
maintenance stopped and we've been having a hard time finding a
replacement. We believe we did and now is time to give a chance to the
new system to prove it. Thanks a lot to all the DSPAM contributors, that
was really awesome.
Our new system is Rspamd. The new system uses a mix of solutions to
score mails, including headers analysis, Bayesian rules, adaptative
greylisting (activates if mail appears somewhat spammy), RBLs… We've
selected rules that would not leak mail content onto third parties.
We've also decided to drop per-user learning, as it really makes the
architecture more complex and consume more resources (early rejection
would no more be possible), but current tests shows it should work out
fine.
Currently Rspamd and DSPAM are working concurrently (for filtering and
learning) but we intend to stop DSPAM very soon. Mail filtering should
continue to work as usual. I updated the documentation accordingly:
https://users.duckcorp.org/index.php/Services/Mail
Outgoing mails are now checked by Rdpamd too.
Please let us know if you have any problem. The system also needs more
input to learn but it should not take long. Don't forget to move in/out
the `Junk` folder SPAM/HAM mails to teach the system.
=== Some words about the future ===
We're currently transforming Toushirou into a full mail server (MX1), so
when Orfeo is in maintenance or a problem occurs, we should be able to
read our mails and receive new ones.
We needed more storage for Toushirou-NG and Pilou offered new disks,
thanks a lot :-). We're working on bringing Toushirou's new body to
life.
Have a Lot of FUN!
\_o<
--
Marc Dequènes
