diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'fetchmail-FAQ.html')
| -rw-r--r-- | fetchmail-FAQ.html | 58 |
1 files changed, 44 insertions, 14 deletions
diff --git a/fetchmail-FAQ.html b/fetchmail-FAQ.html index 4b1f48c1..f297811c 100644 --- a/fetchmail-FAQ.html +++ b/fetchmail-FAQ.html @@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ http://www.ccil.org/~esr</a>.<P> <h1>Fetchmail configuration file grammar questions:</h1> -<a href="#F1">F1. Why does my .fetchmailrc from 3.9 or earlier no longer work?</a><br> +<a href="#F1">F1. Why does my old .fetchmailrc no longer work?</a><br> <a href="#F2">F2. The .fetchmailrc parser won't accept my all-numeric user name.</a><br> <a href="#F3">F3. The .fetchmailrc parser won't accept my host or username beginning with `no'.</a><br> <a href="#F4">F4. I'm migrating from popclient. How do I need to modify my .poprc?</a><br> @@ -224,11 +224,36 @@ If you're reading a non-HTML dump of this FAQ, you can find the paper on the Web with a search for that title.<p> <hr> -<h2><a name="F1">F1. Why does my .fetchmailrc from 3.9 or earlier no longer work?</a></h2> +<h2><a name="F1">F1. Why does my old .fetchmailrc file no longer work?</a></h2> -Probably it's because you're using a .fetchmailrc that's -written in the old popclient syntax without an explicit `username' -keyword leading the first user entry attached to a server entry.<p> +<h3>If your file predates 4.0.6:</h3> + +Just after the `<CODE>via</CODE>' option was introduced, I realized +that the interactions between the `<CODE>via</CODE>', +`<CODE>aka</CODE>', and `<CODE>localdomains</CODE>' options were out +of control. Their behavior had become complex and confusing, so much so +that I was no longer sure I understood it myself. Users were being +unpleasantly surprised.<P> + +Rather than add more options or crock the code, I re-thought it. The +redesign simplified the code and made the options more orthogonal, but +may have broken some complex multidrop configurations. + +Any multidrop configurations that depended on the name just after the +`<CODE>poll</CODE>' or `<CODE>skip</CODE>' keyword being still +interpreted as a DNS name for address-matching purposes, even in the +presence of a `<CODE>via</CODE>' option, will break.<P> + +It is theoretically possible that other unusual configurations (such +as those using a non-FQDN poll name to generate Kerberos IV tickets) might +also break; the old behavior was sufficiently murky that we can't be +sure. If you think this has happened to you, contact the maintainer.<P> + +<h3>If your file predates 3.9:</h3> + +It could be because you're using a .fetchmailrc that's written in the +old popclient syntax without an explicit `<CODE>username</CODE>' +keyword leading the first user entry attached to a server entry. This error can be triggered by having a user option such as `<CODE>keep</CODE>' or `<CODE>fetchall</CODE>' before the first explicit username. For @@ -239,17 +264,20 @@ poll openmail protocol pop3 keep user "Hal DeVore" there is hdevore here </pre> -the `<CODE>keep</CODE>' option will generate an entire user entry with the default -username (the name of fetchmail's invoking user).<p> +the `<CODE>keep</CODE>' option will generate an entire user entry with +the default username (the name of fetchmail's invoking user).<p> The popclient compatibility syntax was removed in 4.0. It complicated the configuration file grammar and confused users.<p> -Also, the `<CODE>interface</CODE>', `<CODE>monitor</CODE>' and +<h3>If your file predates 2.8:</h3> + +The `<CODE>interface</CODE>', `<CODE>monitor</CODE>' and `<CODE>batchlimit</CODE>' options changed after 2.8.<p> -They used to be global options with `set' syntax like the batchlimit -and logfile options. Now they're per-server options, like `protocol'.<p> +They used to be global options with `<CODE>set</CODE>' syntax like the +batchlimit and logfile options. Now they're per-server options, like +`<CODE>protocol</CODE>'.<p> If you had something like<p> @@ -929,10 +957,12 @@ means it is unable to recognize hostname parts as being DNS names of the mailserver, and indicates some kind of DNS configuration problem either on the server or your client machine. <p> -The easiest workaround is to write enough aka declarations to cover -all of your mailserver's aliases, then say `no dns'. This will take +The easiest workaround is to add a `<CODE>via</CODE>' option (if +necessary) and add enough aka declarations to cover all of your +mailserver's aliases, then say `<CODE>no dns</CODE>'. This will take DNS out of the picture (though it means mail may be uncollected if -it's sent to an alias of the server that you don't have listed). <p> +it's sent to an alias of the mailserver that you don't have +listed). <p> It would be better to fix your DNS, however. DNS problems can hurt you in lots of ways, for example by making your machines @@ -1201,7 +1231,7 @@ biff n to solve the problem system-wide.<P> -$Id: fetchmail-FAQ.html,v 1.52 1997/07/30 14:26:35 esr Exp $<p> +$Id: fetchmail-FAQ.html,v 1.53 1997/07/31 00:32:21 esr Exp $<p> <HR> <ADDRESS>Eric S. Raymond <A HREF="mailto:esr@thyrsus.com"><esr@snark.thyrsus.com></A></ADDRESS> |