Well, you've gotten this far, so you've entered your SMTP host info and, possibly, info for SMTP and/or HTTP proxies. These three items, in themselves, can be a problem for some new users. If you used the same info as in your regular email program, you can hardly go wrong. Let's assume all is well. There is a section at the end to help out if the send doesn't work.
No doubt, you have QS open now. Set the QS window and the Help window side-by-side so you can see QS while you read this help.
The Anonymous Message
Let's look at the message headers:
Fcc: outbox Host: quicksilvermail.net From: me@quicksilvermail.net Chain: *,*,*; copies=2; To: mysecretfriend@whatever.net Subject: I admire you Just wanted to let you know, I've secretly admired you for a long time. ~~
That's it!
That's all there is to it! You can send your message now by clicking the Send button, but before you do, let me explain what else happens at the time you do the send.
Mixmaster requires reliability statistics to base it's random remailer selections on. The network is constantly analysing it's performance and there are reports available on the web that Mix can use for this purpose. Also, strong encryption is used to encrypt the message multiple times. Each remailer has it's own encryption key that it shares with the world. Mixmaster needs these keys so that it can perform the required encryption. Prior to each send, QS goes online and and retrieves both a stats report, and remailer keys. Mix then uses this info immediately, in preparing your message. This whole process takes only a few seconds and when complete, QS sends the message via the SMTP host you've specified.
Try sending a few messages to yourself. Not just one. Send yourself several—maybe even a dozen. Don't expect to get the mail immediately. Each remailer holds your message for a random amount of time. This is a tactic used to foil traffic analysis. A chain of three remailers will normally deliver within several hours. By sending yourself several messages, You should start receiving mail fairly soon.
After you succeed in sending yourself a few test messages, you can feel confident in sending the message(s) you got QS for the purpose of sending. If you are, in fact, a whistle-blower, I wish you the best of luck in this endeavor. QuickSilver can serve you well in this regard.
The send failed...
If you have problems, you'll know because your message won't send. You may get dropped connections, time-outs, or other odd results. The best I can tell you is that, for SMTP hosts and proxies, you MUST enter the exact parameters you are given by the service you are using. People can be sloppy about this and that will generally lead to the failure to send mail. If you have problems with your SMTP host see: SMTP Host Profile. For problems with proxies, see: Proxy Host Profile. To make changes to your setup, you'll find SMTP Hosts and Proxies on the Tools menu. Remember, the info you enter must be exactly as it is given to you. If you think you can enter this from memory...it's very easy to get it wrong. If you're using the same host as your regular email program, use exactly the same info as you entered there.