On 13/07/2024 06:54, Francis Augusto Medeiros-Logeay via Postfix-users
wrote:
Hi everyone,
Thanks a lot for your feedback. I learned a lot. So I’ll forget the
whole thing.
I have a last question, though: are there disadvantages of using a
catchall compared to not using it, just letting messages bounce when
the address does not exist instead?
I notice that I don’t get spam with my catchall. It only gets email
where the sender typed the address wrongly. So I’m not having bad side
effects of using it. But is it wise to use it, or is it better to let
servers “know” when an address doesn’t exist as its own mailbox?
Best,
Francis
Hi Francis
I think the answer is it depends.
On servers with a lot of users, I doubt anyone would want to spend time
reading through a catchall mailbox. My guess is that catchall email
volumes increase with the number of real users. That mailbox is going to
be receiving email not just due to typos, but also email to now
cancelled email addresses etc. There is a privacy question as to who
would be authorized to read the catchall email box if the server has
multiple users and/or the domain had email addresses that have been
cancelled.
The standard solution is to maintain a list of valid users and reject
recipient addresses not in that list. But your use case may have
advantages that outweigh any potential disadvantages. Havinga a catchall
implies that someone is going to be checking it. In that case, with time
to read the catchall, you may be able to find the time to notify people
that their email went to the wrong address (for genuine looking emails
of course).
So ultimately, the suggestion is to weigh up advantages it gives you
against other constraints like time it takes to manage and privacy
issues. Personally, I wouldn't spend time on it. I reject invalid
recipients. If people write to the wrong address they get notified and
they can correct it if they chose and it is a setup that works without
manual intervention. I may have lost a few marketing emails like the
ones that come from "no reply" addresses, but I'm not going to lose
sleep over it :-)
John
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