easy admin mail server recommendation requested

[Rick Moen]

Just to comment a bit further (and, I hope, more usefully):

> Gurus - I'm considering running Linux (preferably Debian) mailserver for 
> one of my domains, vs an ISP (currently Verio - high rates). Do you (one 
> or all) recommend a particular package that has easy simple admin in 
> Debian (which distro?), and is reliable as a rock? Would it be PostFix, 
> qmail, sendmail, etc? 

"Reliable as a rock" breaks down into two components, I think:  

o functionality under normal circumstances, including heavy load
o expectation of security against compromise

Any of the primary open-source MTAs (postfix, sendmail, exim,
Courier-MTA), and qmail function reliably under various loads.

Conventionally, one expects an MTA to have a higher expectation of
security over the long term to the extent that it is:

o  minimally coded (avoids featuritis)
o  coded in a conservative fashion
o  modular

(I'm sure there are many other concerns, including quality and
timeliness of codebase maintenance.)

Exim and sendmail are monolithic in overall, basic design, rather than
modular.  Postfix, Courier-MTA, and the proprietary qmail mailer enjoy
modular design.

Opinions about coding and feature-bloat are all over the map, but the
authors of Postfix and Qmail have a good repuation for caution.

> I would like mail handling (receive, send)

This is the function of the MTA -- and, in a subsidiary sense, of the
LDA (local delivery agent).

> POP3 and IMAP access

This is _not_ the function of the MTA, but rather of the MDA (message
delivery agent).  See:  "MDAs" on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Mail/ (which
also covers your options in LDAs).

> spam blocking, virus blocking,

Opinions on these are _highly_ diverse.  I mention at the bottom of my
"MTAs" piece (cited earlier) one omnibus package called EximConfig that,
applied to Exim 4.x, gives you -- IMVAO -- a finely honed, configurable
system with capabilities in those areas and many more.

> and (extra-credit) mailing list management with self-administration
> (change address, digestify, archives, etc). 

Many people like the way Mailman works and integrates with MTAs,
including (especially) with Exim.  Mailman includes a not-too-sucky HTML
archiver called Pipermail.  

Some others prefer Sympa and various other mailing list managers.

> I'd like LDAP or other directory integration 
> to be optional, not required.

Pretty much any of the MTAs will do that.