Steve Losen scl@sasha.acc.virginia.edu writes:

When we add new user accounts to our NetApp, we don't know if the owner will use CIFS, unix, or both. (We use unix file protection semantics.) So we are going to put unix dot files in the new home directory. But it would be nice to prevent or discourage CIFS users from deleting them -- in particular the .forward file. We were thinking that if we could make the dot files "hidden" and "system", that that would help, even though CIFS users can override and see hidden files if they want.

[...]

Is this overly complex? Is there a simpler way?

Yes. I think so.

A simpler solution is to configure sendmail to look for .forward files somewhere other than home directories.

We put all .forward files (as well as procmail stuff) in a centralized location (physically on the mail server). For example,

/local/mail/<username>/.forward

/local/mail can be (auto)mounted to allow editing on clients. You can put symbolic links in user home directories, and it won't matter if people delete the links.

This also allows for faster and more reliable mail delivery since the .forward files are now located on the mail server. You don't need to worry about someone's home directory being unavailable.

- Dan