TL;DR: - SMTP is the way computers exchange e-mails - it is a decentralised protocol meaning that ANYONE can run a node and be independant - it is being centralised at companies that have a history of abuse - it is being centralised in a country that has a history of abuse Where did you read this already ? In August, I published a small article titled “You should not run your mail server because mail is hard” which was basically my opinion on why people keep saying it is hard to run a mail server.