email exchange in I2P

Posted by kitz in I2P (edited )

Delayed communication via email has a number of advantages for me over instant messages.
I decided to see what is currently used in I2P.
After little research I found several mail exchange options.

  • mail.i2p - it seems that the project does not respond to other servers via SMTP. Looks like this is one server, like gmail, only inside I2P. Let me know if I'm wrong.
  • bdsmail and classic mail servers relay - seems to work, but there is lack of information and manuals/tutorials. Somebody tries to setup self hosted one?
  • I2P Bote - what status of i2p.i2p-bote, is it alive? Some forks have fixes, so why doesn't the team pull them into the main repository? Will it develop further? pboted is now the only alternative?

There are also very few sources of information.

  • bote.i2p looks like it hasn't been updated for long time. But if it works, then the person is still running I2P router. It is strange that he/she does not update the content or transfer it to someone who will be involved in the project.
  • Is purplebote.i2p alive? There is certainly a lot of information about emails on the portal, but it looks abandoned.

So what do you guys use to exchange emails?
Where can I find more information about other options?

UPD 2023-06-29:
I ask you all to pay attention that everyone is hooked on the question about mail.i2p.
But the rest questions are ignored. Although they are no less, and even more important.

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Comments

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postman wrote (edited by a moderator )

mail.i2p relays mail TO and FROM the internet as well. Check hq.postman.i2p for more information on this feature.

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kitz OP wrote (edited )

Do not quite understand.

Is federation with other email servers inside I2P via SMTP is possible?
Or is it just a gateway to clearnet with clearnet federation?

In any case, this does not cancel the fact - monopoly of the service without alternative.

UPD: This is not a stone in your direction, rather a regret that there are no other similar services.

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z3d wrote (edited )

mail.i2p - it seems that the project does not respond to other servers via SMTP.

Internally, @mail.i2p is used, externally, @i2pmail.org. So when supplying an e-mail address for a clearnet service, use you@i2pmail.org as the reply address. Note that some mail servers or services may not play nice with i2pmail.org.

bote.i2p looks like it hasn't been updated for long time.

i2pbote should be considered defunct. No active developers and a huge chunk of less than ideal legacy code.

Is purplebote.i2p alive?

Yes, it's alive and apparently in active development. See: https://github.com/PurpleBote/pboted and/or jump on the I2P IRC network and have a chat with polistern, the lead developer.

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kitz OP wrote

Note that some mail servers or services may not play nice with i2pmail.org.

Can you tell me more about this point? Or where I can read about it?

i2pbote should be considered defunct. No active developers and a huge chunk of less than ideal legacy code.

The fact that there is a problem with the site is quite obvious.
I have seen some recent changes from the team in their forks. It looks like the project has some kind of support. Why don't they merge them into the main repository? Perhaps this activity will revive the community.

Yes, it's alive and apparently in active development.

I'll take note. I was just confused by the emptiness on the forum.

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z3d wrote (edited )

Note that some mail servers or services may not play nice with i2pmail.org.

Can you tell me more about this point? Or where I can read about it?

It's really hit and miss, no golden rule. For the most part, things work fine, though if a service or remote mail server has i2pmail.org in their blacklist, then you might experience issues. Some services appear to treat i2pmail.org as they would a throwaway e-mail host.

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kitz OP wrote (edited )

i2pbote should be considered defunct. No active developers and a huge chunk of less than ideal legacy code.

The fact that there is a problem with the site is quite obvious. I have seen some recent changes from the team in their forks. It looks like the project has some kind of support. Why don't they merge them into the main repository? Perhaps this activity will revive the community.

So what about this point?

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z3d wrote

Which part of "it should be considered defunct, there are no active developers" don't you understand? It's dead, Jim!

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Rambler wrote (edited )

In my (limited) experience using i2pmail.org as a clearnet relay, I find that an expected email may not hit my @mail.i2p inbox until some hours later. I'm not certain if this delay is caused from the clearnet to I2P path or within the I2P network itself.

Still a very suitable and beneficial service, of course. But something to consider for time sensitive emails, as using that email address for something you may need a password reset on or email based auth-code that expires after XX minutes, you may find yourself in between a rock and a hard place.

EDIT: Disregard the above about it not being suitable for time-senstive emails. I just did a test, and received my clearnet email to my I2P inbox in about 5 minutes. In the past, it had taken hours, but in hindsight, the webmail inbox may have been cached or it could have just been a one-off fluke. ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯?

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righttoprivacy wrote (edited )

I 2nd that. I really dig mail.i2p (as a recent set up).

No issues here with delays (proton - plays fine with it).

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not_bob wrote

mail.i2p works very well. I've used it for years to communicate with people in and out of the network.

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