🚀 go-pugleaf

My Demon machine (keris.demon.co.uk) runs unattended,
since I'm working in Germany , and it relays any mail
to chris@keris.d.c.u to my work address (this one) using
the KA9Q alias file.  To avoid problems with the SMTP 
server at this end, it uses post.dcu as a relay.  The
lines in the alias file are therefore like:

chris   crough45%amc.de@post.demon.co.uk

At least, it did until recently (possibly this year,
certainly since the 9th Jan or so).  Now, what it does
is start to send the mail and then post.dcu locks up.

Having monitored the session, what happens is:

MAIL FROM:<fred@bloggs.org>

and then post either does nothing or responds with some
kind of "nameserver lookup timout" (presumably for the
'from' address).

In other words, it never gets as far as the actual "percent
hack" being sent, it locks up on any mail sent to me.

If the "mail from" address is from my own address, it's fine
(I didn't try typing in other Demon addresses).

When this happens, the effect is that /all/ of my outgoing 
mail is blocked, because that is the first thing in the 
queue, and everything is routed via post.dcu.

This seems to be a recent change in the behaviour of post.dcu,
possibly related to the "anti-spam" changes.  Whatever it is,
the result is that (a) my account is useless and (b) it has
been costing me quite a bit of money trying to send perfectly
valid mail.

I have 4 options:

1 Receive everything without the 'alias' file and parse it all
  offline before the next login, and send it all with my own
  address in the envelope.

2 Remove the "percent hack" so that all mail goes direct 
  instead of via post.

3 Change the KA9Q source so that all outgoing envelopes contain
  my address.

4 find another ISP.

(1) will (a) take quite a time, since I'm not there to test
it, (b) cause delays in my mail, (c) cost more phone time.

(2) will (a) often not work, (b) cost more waiting for the
server at this end.

(3) will (a) probably break Internet standards by pretending
that all mail is from me, (b) cause my mailer to not sort
correctly because all envelopes will look the same, (c) probably
introduce more bugs into KA9Q, (d) take some time because I'm
not there to test it.  (points a and b also apply to option 1).

(4) is personally distasteful to me, because I've had good service
from Demon up to now (modulo a few glitches!) and don't want to 
leave.  (And of course the other problems, like losing the DNS
entry so everyone sending to me would have to be updated).

By far the preferable thing would be for Demon to get rid of
whatever is causing the problem, of course.  Failing that, for
them to provide a national PoP in Germany (the NL one is just
as expensive to call from Germany as the UK one is).

I can't provide logs at the moment, but if Demon could put a
trace on the SMTP server(s) for accesses from keris.demon.co.uk
then they should see it fairly soon (in fact I could force it
by sending my machine a message from here).

Chris C