Yep Lemmy uses SMTP and in my experience most self-hostable platforms do as well. You can see in the Lemmy config documents how it gets set up: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/administration/configuration.html.
Either a local SMTP server (less used) or an external service (more common). The SMTP is configurable but I believe most used option is ssl smtp over port 587.
theyre routing through a standard SMTP service either hosted by their ISP or an external service theyve sighed up for to relay their mail.
i push mine out through AWS SMTP service, for example.
@Asudox my mastodon connects with smtp to a locally running sendmail which then forwards the messages signed with dkim
Is running a SMTP server a pain in the ass? Like hard to maintain?
Yes, it is.
I’ve been running my own mail server for decades now (a quite odd hobby, I know) and that’s not to be recommended for anyone who doesn’t have a particular interest in e-mail. SMTP is from the early 1980s with roots in the 1970s and has had layer upon layer bolted on since then. It’s a fantastic mess.
