Setting up E-mail Server

Users want to have e-mail with my site.

[woop01]

I’ve had some users ask me if it would be possible to have an e-mail address from our domain name similar to yahoo and gmail. For example, they want [e-mail]. In all, it would be less than 1,000 users, most likely less than 100. I could justify the cost of another server if we needed one to do this.

The problem is, I have no clue where to start in the process of setting something up for them. I manage the three dedicated servers we use (Windows 2003, IIS) but don’t have an expertise in managing an e-mail server.

Where does a person start in setting something like this up?

What liability issues should a person worry about before even considering doing this?

I’m sure there are some huge issues in doing that that I don’t even know to ask about. What are some common mistakes made by people who attempt to do what I’m talking about?

[txbakers]

What liability issues should a person worry about before even considering doing this?

In a word: SPAM.

if one of those 1000 people starts sending spam under YOUR domain name, you are hosed.

if you really want to do this, then get another domain and use that for email instead of YOUR primary domain.

You will need to purchase some type of mail server like Merak or Exchange and learn how to manage it.

[Dijkgraaf]

I would think that only if they send the SPAM though your server would you be held liable, not just them sending out mail using your domain. I've had spammers spoof my domain on various occasions, and never even got a complaint about it from anyone, let alone had any legal difficulties. The only reason I know that they were doing it is that either the included me in the spam, or I got the bounces.

[woop01]

How do others prevent being held accountable for spam sent from their servers?

[Dijkgraaf]

Some ways you can reduce the posibility of lots of SPAM being sent through your server:
a) Setting limits on the number of outbound messages that can be sent per account in a period. This will require authentication for outbound mail, which also helps reduce SPAM, and not just inbound as currently is mostly the case.
b) Monitoring outbound mail for SPAMmy keywords.
c) Monitoring outbound mail for viruses.
d) Making sure you have an abuse@ e-mail address set up and procudures to field complaints.