What would it take to remove DNS from the mix with ethmail addresses, and replace with ENS?
I guess it would take some substantial work to rebuild SMTP / POP / IMAP to use ENS, and might require a green-field mail routing network (or would it?), but one which could be bootstrapped with the right incentives…
But I think it would be cool to make progress towards a world where I can send emails to hello@xunkulapchvatal.eth
Or are we still too early for this? What do you think?
The problem with supporting ENS for address resolution is that it would need to be implemented in external mail servers, like for example Gmail servers. They would need to decide to use ENS, I can easily provide support for [name]@ens.domain in ethmail in a way that I could route those email to appropriate mailbox (being owned by current owner of given ens domain).
This could be done for internal resolution, so that people using ethmail and sending emails from ethmail accounts could use those addresses.
I think what I meant is to promote a parallel mail protocol, which would not require external mail servers to do anything because they’re different (kinda like how the legacy financial system is different), but which would be able to perform the basic communication functions that “feel like” email.
i.e. instead of building something which plays by the legacy rules (SMTP), build some kind of “walled garden” that defines it’s own rules (call it SMTP2 or ESMTP where E is for Ethereum), and then allow the traditional systems to work out how (whether) to play by the new rules (or to become obsolete in this new world).
In some senses, building mail platforms based on legacy protocols like SMTP introduced 30 years ago is kinda perpetuating the traditional internet, instead of fostering a new (and much better) one.
This way, you can be pleasantly surprised when you hear that Google is going to be upgrading its platform to work with “ESMTP”, so that their spammers can get through to those with cryptocurrency.