93 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
+++
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title = "Postmaster"
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description = "Managing petau.net: A family domain with federated email"
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date = 2023-12-06
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authors = ["Aron Petau"]
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[taxonomies]
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tags = [
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"activitypub",
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"dev-ops",
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"email",
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"federation",
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"open protocols",
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"peer-to-peer",
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"petau.net",
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"server",
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"web"
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]
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[extra]
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show_copyright = true
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show_shares = true
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+++
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## Postmaster
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Hello from [aron@petau.net](mailto:aron@petau.net)!
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> [!NOTE]
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> **Update 2025:** The service has been running smoothly for over two years
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> now, managing 30+ email accounts for family and friends. Still loving the
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> Migadu choice!
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## Background
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Email is a wondrous thing, and I've spent recent weeks digging deeper into
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how it actually works. Some consider it the last bastion of the decentralized
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dream the internet once had—a dream now resurfacing with federation and
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peer-to-peer networks as popular buzzwords.
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We often forget that email is *already* a federated system, and likely the
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most important one we have. It's the only way to communicate with people who
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don't use the same service as you. It has open standards and isn't controlled
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by a single entity.
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Going without email is unimaginable in today's world, yet most providers are
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the familiar few from Silicon Valley. And really, who wants their entire
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decentralized, federated, peer-to-peer network controlled by a tech giant?
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Emails used to be more than that, and they can still be.
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Arguably, the world of messaging has grown complex since email's inception—
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there are more anti-spam AI tools than I care to count. But the core remains
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the same: a federated system. Yet capitalism has claimed many victories here
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too. Today, emails sent from providers outside the big five are often flagged
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as spam. This problem isn't easily solved, but it's worth solving.
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Another issue: security. It's somehow collectively agreed that emails are
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valid for business communications, while WhatsApp and Signal are not. Yet
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messaging services with end-to-end encryption are likely far more secure
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than traditional email.
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## The Story
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So it came to pass that I, as the only family member interested in operating
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it, "inherited" the family domain **petau.net**. All our emails run through
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this service, previously managed by a web developer who'd lost interest.
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With secure mail providers like ProtonMail or Tutanota on the market, I
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embarked on a research journey to determine how I'd manage our domain. I
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quickly noticed that "secure" email virtually always comes with a price tag
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or lacks interoperability with clients like Thunderbird or Outlook.
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I settled on [Migadu](https://www.migadu.com/), a Swiss provider offering a
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good balance between security and usability. They also have a student tier—
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a significant plus.
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### Why Not Self-Host?
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While self-hosting seems ideal from a privacy perspective, it's risky for a
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service that's often the *only* way to recover passwords or online identity.
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If your server goes down during a critical password reset... well, good luck.
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Migadu it was. After two years of essentially "set it and forget it," I'm
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proud to have granular control over our emails while consciously reflecting
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on the server location of this skeleton service that enables virtually our
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entire online existence.
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## Beyond Email
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I certainly crave more open protocols in my life. You can also find me on
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[Mastodon](https://mastodon.online/@reprintedAron), a microblogging network
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built on the ActivityPub protocol—another step toward a more decentralized
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internet.
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