I want to start a webmail service... how?

N

hello, just a fancy here (but I am taking it seriously!) - how do I create a webmail service (something like Yahoo! Mail, Gmail or Hotmail)? What do I need to learn? Currently I am aware that my level of knowledge in this arena is completely zero but I'm raring to push forward from ground zero. Any help/advice/directions would be sincerely appreciated!
niz

Simple email solution you can create with any server side script. However if you want to provide email ids to visitors of your site with your domain name, you can use the service of everyone.net.

N

Hi... thanks, but could someone feed me in with some more details? Like alternatives/more precise directions regarding constructing such a site... cheers

S

U say that u hav zero knowledge
the first thing required to built a simple website is learn HTML
then u can learn Any scripting language like i am doing i.e is ASP ,javascript,vbscript etc.
Since u r a beginner u should learn java script .Its easy .
I hav an ASP code which allows any person to mail to someone or me

visit www.w3schools.com for learning webdesigning

well i can suggest you a smartest way.. get a domain and go for google hosted service i.e. *www.google.com/a/

This will make you run a email service similar to gmail but with your own domain and best part is all will be taken care by google itself.

cheers..

Check out few Scripts like Hivemail

Squirelmail ETC.

Hivemail is cool but paid script

*images.hivemail.com/screens/main.gif

N

Thx all.. Well, I know HTML, and a bit of PHP, JSP and JS. Thing is, I don't want an easy way out here -- I want to learn to build a website the way they built Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. Not that I want to copy either, but just to learn how to do it. Thx again, and some more ideas wouldn't be any less appreciated. Regards,
niz

S

niz said:
Thx all.. Well, I know HTML, and a bit of PHP, JSP and JS. Thing is, I don't want an easy way out here -- I want to learn to build a website the way they built Gmail or Yahoo! Mail. Not that I want to copy either, but just to learn how to do it. Thx again, and some more ideas wouldn't be any less appreciated. Regards,
niz

huh making a website without scritpting or coding.It must be so boring .I think now to make website without much efforts u should use softwares .I will recommend u this software:- *www.evrsoft.com/ .My bro in class 4th uses it to learn multimedia in html and frames .There r more softwares also .google for website buiilders

U can use these softwares but for making mail ids and other tough work u will have to do it manually.U can learn PHP

N

Yes, I am familiar with stuff like Dreamweaver already... thx... haven't got the hang of the Google part though... can I have something like sbdy@mydarnsite.com?

sukhdeepsinghkohli said:
Check out few Scripts like Hivemail Squirelmail ETC.

Hivemail is cool but paid script

*images.hivemail.com/screens/main.gif

See, there has to be tons of coding and security issues and since you have no good coding experience your best choice is to use scripts like Hivemail etc

N

Well, just because I'm not so great at coding doesn't mean I'll never be! I want to do this and I am taking it seriously -- even if for a hobby. Yup, I won't be able to do with paid scripts right now... any other good options? Plus, what about the mail servers on Linux?

niz said:
Well, just because I'm not so great at coding doesn't mean I'll never be! I want to do this and I am taking it seriously -- even if for a hobby. Yup, I won't be able to do with paid scripts right now... any other good options? Plus, what about the mail servers on Linux?

Believe me if you are that serious about it...nobody is stopping you. A few Google searches and you will find few scripts. Go thru the code as how it is actually working

Mail Servers on Linux - Loads of options you have

N

sukhdeepsinghkohli said:
Believe me if you are that serious about it...nobody is stopping you. A few Google searches and you will find few scripts. Go thru the code as how it is actually working

Mail Servers on Linux - Loads of options you have

Thx a zillion man. Now what I'll have to get to is figure out how those scripts actually work (i.e. how good they really are and also 'how' they work). Looks like a rough ride for sure! Any more directions? By the way, which seems to be the better track for a webmail server/host -- Linux or Windows? I've heard Linux is better for heavy duty servers and all that...

Most of the Servers these days on Linux...because of Stability and Security issues

N

Yes, I know... tried fiddling with SUSE and Fedora for a while (my preferred flavor would actually be Debian but I couldn't even make the GUI appear!). Couldn't make much out of anything really. In any case, do I have to learn Linux just to get the mail thing working? Any help? Thx for all your support,
niz

nope man... learning linux has nothin to do wit using linux servers for ur hosting purposes....
1st of all learn scripting languages like asp.net n php n js...

N

My experience in coding (as I mentioned previously): PHP, JS, JSP. Any more directions/advice, please? Thx for your help - sincerely.
niz

Hey niz, I was following this thread but didn't post anything because I thought you are just being over-ambitious by wanting to start your own webmail website. But you proved me wrong.

You are out to learn and not compete with multi-billion dollar companies like Yahoo, Google and Microsoft.

Here are a couple of links for you:

Free Web Mail PHP Scripts
This one gives you free PHP webmail scripts.
Hotscripts.com, Web-based email systems
This link has a list of various similar scripts. Some are free, some are not free!

sukhdeepsinghkohli has given you one good script. There's one more called Roundcube. I like this one. Let me know if you need an email account where you can test out roundcube

RoundCube Webmail is released under the GNU General Public License. So you will get the source code. You are free to customise it and release your own version (like various Linux distros).

Hope these are helpful. All the best.

N

Let me start off by saying I'm thrilled with the info you provided. Thanks a zillion!

I'll indeed look into the links and get back to you. My coding capabilities are limited but I'll try to get the most out of open-source scripts. What about protecting mail users from spam? This is the area that's currently bothering me.

Judging from your forum nick: I used to dabble in Linux a bit some time ago, but didn't really get too far (actually, nowhere). I want to go for something like Debian or SUSE for long-term idea implementations. Any suggestions? I heard Debian is really user-friendly but couldn't even get the GUI running on my computer!

Plus, do I need to learn Linux to get my mail thing running? I'm asking this because I've noticed a mail server (Samba?) is there among Linux installation packages (in Fedora, SUSE etc).

Once again, thanks a zillion.

Oh Damn, How could i forgot the RoundCube

I tried it once on my server but later due to spam issue went for Google Apps

@niz if you need any LINUX related help....i guess this is not the right place. Tons of Liunx Related forums out there....try any

niz said:
Let me start off by saying I'm thrilled with the info you provided. Thanks a zillion!

You are welcome

niz said:
What about protecting mail users from spam? This is the area that's currently bothering me.

Lots of companies are trying to come up with solutions for spam. But unfortunately, no one is 100% accurate. However, Bayesian Filtering is pretty popular. I am using SpamAssassin on my personal mail accounts at the server end. It at least marks the mails as spam and assigns them scores. SpamAssassin is also open source. I collect them in a separate folder in my email client using message rules.

niz said:
Judging from your forum nick: I used to dabble in Linux a bit some time ago, but didn't really get too far (actually, nowhere). I want to go for something like Debian or SUSE for long-term idea implementations. Any suggestions? I heard Debian is really user-friendly but couldn't even get the GUI running on my computer!

From my forum nick, quite a few people misunderstand me! I am not a TuxPro, I am a tuxfan. My knowledge of GNU/Linux is really really limited. However, search in the Open Source section and you will find some thread running on pros and cons of various distros. This same question has been asked many times. Personally, I feel SuSE and Ubuntu are really getting better and popular.

niz said:
Plus, do I need to learn Linux to get my mail thing running? I'm asking this because I've noticed a mail server (Samba?) is there among Linux installation packages (in Fedora, SUSE etc).

You may not need to learn too much initially. You can simply learn the intricacies of that mail server. However, if you are really serious on this, some day you will HAVE TO learn GNU/Linux in a bit more depth because it is the preferred OS at the server end.

N

Thanks, all of you. Sorry for the delay in posting -- my phone line was out! In any case, yes, looking at it from a long-term perspective, I should start checking out Linux. I haven't made much progress on Google's services that might be of help to me in this case (creating a webmail) -- any help on this? Plus, I'd prefer Debian for a transition to Linux; any thoughts?
Thanks again,
niz

niz said:
I haven't made much progress on Google's services that might be of help to me in this case (creating a webmail) -- any help on this?

I think you better check out the google help on this.

niz said:
Plus, I'd prefer Debian for a transition to Linux; any thoughts?
Thanks again,
niz

More and more people have started prefering Ubuntu for dekstops and CentOS for servers.

N

Thx a zillion (as always). I'm on the thing, and will keep you posted if I need further help. Might take some time.

Use Merak Mail Server. Though it's a not free but it is very very flexible &
poerful, easy to configure & use.
www.merakmailserver.com

ok try out this *www.roundcube.net/

this might be of great help to u

N

Dear all,
Thanks a zillion for all the replies.. am working on it and indeed taking it pretty seriously. Due to my job and other stuff I can't really spend as much time as I would have liked on this thing, but you can be assured that I'm not giving up. Any more ideas/roadmaps would be appreciated, and in the meanwhile, I'll keep you all updated if something happens.
niz