Localhost is already listed, but I tried putting it in anyway and it didn't help. I think either fetchmail or exim are treating my smtp like a localhost instead of remote. I really think this file looks different from the one I was using before I re-installed; of course I downgraded from "testing" or that is I haven't upgraded back to it yet. I've tried using my machine name as the visible one; I've tried using chartermi.net as the visible one; it makes absolutely no difference. Other than making a f.fetchmailrc, which I haven't done yet because I'm trying to test with each change I make, I'm not sure what I can do to fetchmail. If one of these two programs is throwing a fit, I'd say it's exim. Also, exim as a somewhat less complicated example file, but if you use eximconfig with that file in place, of course it regenerates a new file of the kind with the package; if you want to use the sample file instead of the package one, you have to do it by hand each time. I wouldn't mind that except that my changes don't seem to be changing the outcome. What I'm actually getting at the bottom line is "query status 10 (smtp). What is really perplexing is that i had no trouble with either exim in the past, except for the initial learning phase.