The Future of SMTP Service
Predictably, the Email technology will stay intact for a long time but will most likely undergo a series of incremental updates. One of this is the client authentication which is not in use when the SMTP RFC was written. It has almost replaced open relaying and some mail servers now use SSL certificates to verify another server’s identity. The future of smtp service however depends largely upon those who are abusing it. When used properly, it can provide a reliable, fault-tolerant system of email delivery. Currently, it is very effective and any changes are likely to work against this reputation for it could add to the complexity of the protocol.
