this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2023
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All this new excitement with Lemmy and federation has got me thinking that maybe I should learn to run my own instance. What always comes up though is how email is the orginal federated technology.

I am looking at proxmox and see that is has a built in email server, so now I am wondering if it is time to role my own.

I stopped using gmail a long time ago, and right now I use ProtonMail, but I am super frustrated with the dumb limitation of only having a single account for the app. I get why they do it, and I am willing to pay, but it is pricey and I don't know if that is my best option. I guess it is worth it since ProtonVPN is included. It looks like they are expanding their suite.

Is it worth it? Can I make it secure? Is it stupid to run it off a local computer on my home network?

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[–] cow@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I run my own on digitalocean. I used https://github.com/lukesmithxyz/emailwiz to set it up. I do not use it as my main email account. Relating to hosting it with your own hardware, your isp probably blocks forwarding port 25 which would make that impossible.

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[–] zmhanham@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Infomaniak has pretty nice free email server options that you can link your domain to. They are a Switzerland based company which is known for having the best privacy laws around.

[–] DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one 0 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Wow, this looks pretty awesome. It has become obvious that I need to buy my own domain name, and Infomaniak makes it kind exciting, since it basically lets me jump into exactly what I am trying to do. Seriously, when I think I have seen all of my options, something new pops up that trumps it all.

Should I buy my domain from Infomaniak, or is it better somewhere else? What name would I even choose? Will I get my first pick? What extension is the coolest while still maintaining an air of professionalism? Maybe I should buy too, one that is just my full ass name, and the other a fun one to be the central hub of all my online things that I will probably start doing now that I am excited by this.

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[–] Robbie@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

E-mail was the first "thing" that got me off of Google (to Proton & then currently Tutanota) but is really the last remaining service I not have self hosted.

I have always read about how difficult and time consuimg it was to run your own mail server, but I felt like I needed to experience it myself. So I purchased another domain and followed the instructions on https://mailinabox.email/.

I am using a small VPS on Hetzner and I have to say the experience has been almost flawless so far. I did need to have my new domain taken off the Domain Block List, but Hetzner gave me a clean IP and defaults to blocking port 25 outbound to prevent spam (simple ticket to open, once account is 30 days old and paid).

I know I'm still early into this journey so far, but it has been really simple and I plan to test this secondary domain for a few months before moving onto it full time.

As an avid self hosted of literally everything else, I can say it has been a lot of fun learning so far!

[–] DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Hell yes, I love the enthusiasm! I just got a domain, which is giving me 3 months of email, so that is great. I feel like Tutanota is the most honest email service when it comes to advertising privacy, and they do some stuff that Proton definitely does not, like make recovery impossible without a key, and use no other method.

My next step is to get a VPS, and Hetzner is the name I have seen pop up the most. I will use that.

Thank you!

[–] Robbie@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes I haven't had any real issues with Tutanota, but it seems like the common trend is that they, and everyone else, is raising prices for things I dont really need. But at the same time, the things I do need, I.e. accounts with enough storage for my family, will start costing more than the price of renting a VPS alone. So for me, its partially privacy, but also ownership of my data and cost benefit analysis where I am now trying to make CERTAIN that my self hosted email is worth the cost savings.

[–] DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago

That is the thing, I am willing to pay for email, because then the incentives are real to the provider to follow best practices for privacy and quality of life, but the pricing blows up too quickly due to to features I will never use. I need something more granular.

I am also looking at Disroot and Posteo, which I like because the have hardened ethical principles driving their services, and that is worth supporting.

[–] Thewanderer@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I'm using openbsd with dovcot, opensmtpd on a pi. I used mailhardener to get it scoring well. I've had no issues with it getting flagged.

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[–] bunkbed@feddit.uk 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I used to. I had a docker-mailserver. It was good. But I moved house and changed ISP. I couldn't set up the reverse DNS on my address, and Gmail was blocking me, so I had to switch to a hosted mail server (namecheap private email).

It's a shame, syncing is noticably slower, and I only get one mailbox, but oh well. Just keep on using GPG.

[–] DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one 1 points 2 years ago

The most tech savvy I have ever gotten with a friend is using Signal. I guess if I truly care about privacy is should use GPG on whatever can use it, but I don't do a lot through the internet that does not obligate my identity, like banking or university stuff. I tried to be random with using aliases when ordering stuff online, but more often then not it was a hassle with family members getting confused. Plus, there has been times when I need to sign or pick up from the delivery center due to some error, and I am glad I used my name since they look at ID.

Social media is like the only reason to stay anonymous.

[–] falcon15500@lemmy.nine-hells.net 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Interestingly enough, I read a thread about this yesterday - https://beehaw.org/post/214684

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[–] Trondk@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Jep. running a linux mailserver for now 20+ years

its now running postfix :-), in a vm on proxmox...

[–] DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago

Proxmox is awesome. Sort of the answer to most of my server wants.

[–] alvaro@social.graves.cl 0 points 2 years ago (3 children)

@DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one I do, it is a pain and I understand why it is not worth for some people.

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