[Info-vax] "SEND MAIL" doesn't send mail, mail stays in queue

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <p45edm$f1v$1 at dont-email.me>, Stephen Hoffman
<seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> writes: 

> On 2018-01-22 18:33:10 +0000, Marco Beishuizen said:
> 
> > I'm trying to use MAIL on my DEC PWS600au running OpenVMS 8.4. SMTP is 
> > enabled and running. The MAIL program seems to work. I used "SET 
> > CONFIGURATION SMTP" to set the mail gateway to the ISP mail server. 
> > There are no error messages.
> > 
> > Problem is that when entering a mail message and sending it, nothing 
> > happens. The mail messages stay in the mail queue forever.
> > 
> > Am I missing something?
> 
> The existing mail server logs will usually give some details on why the 
> connections are being rejected.  Start there.   Probably an 
> authentication error, as a guess.    While it's usually easiest to use 
> the gateway settings to route all outbound mail to a "newer" mail 
> server, there's no authentication support available with that, short of 
> add-on (replacement) software, or (easier) setting up a local relay via 
> Postfix or some other mail server and from there along to the ISP.

I've been running SMTP at home on VMS for almost 20 years.  The only 
thing I needed to do above and beyond the normal setup (and turning off 
the RELAY stuff) was to find an SMTP relay server for outgoing mail.  
I've been using the services of DynAccess for that, as well as for 
dynamic DNS.  My experience: better services, lower prices, and better 
support than the competition.  Since, as a dynamic-DNS provider, your IP 
is known, you can use the server---with no authentication.  I receive 
email directly.  I use spamhaus.org as an RBL.  That and a setting to 
reject mail to non-existent users keeps out most spam.  DynAccess also 
offers the possibility to receive mail and forward it to you, in which 
case it is also possible to turn on some anti-spam stuff (based on 
content as well, I believe).  I use the MX servers only as backups in 
case I am offline.