Re: What is the point of IMAP?

Robert Nichols wrote:
In article <T_idnQvzFrYwayfUnZ2dnUVZ8gKWnZ2d@xxxxxxxx>,
David Brown <david.brown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
:Robert Nichols wrote:
:> :> That might be a limitation of some commom POP3 clients, but "DELE 17" is
:> a valid POP3 command and would delete message 17 in the inbox.
:> :
:That's a valid pop3 command - but no client (though there are many that :I haven't used) I've seen allows deletion of individual messages from :the server. You get an option to delete messages after collection (the :default normally), or leave them on the server.

I'm running Thunderbird and have it configured to leave messages on the
server until I delete them. If I delete individual messages in
Thunderbird, it obediently deletes those messages from the server the
next time it connects. It's using POP3 to do that (configured to use
POP3 and connecting to servers that don't support IMAP). I believe that
other POP3 clients can act in a similar manner.


I did not know that - and I'm quite surprised. While that is in many ways useful behaviour, it is also somewhat at a contradiction with "leave messages on server". You still get very different views of the same email if you use more than one computer (or more than one email client) for the same account.

:I've seen a few utilities (and written one myself) that will download :the headers from a POP3 server and let you selectively delete messages. : But it's not common behaviour on an email client.
:
:> And, I'd be interested to know how Comcast's web mail client uses IMAP
:> to talk to the server since the Comcast mail servers do not support IMAP
:> (and there are no plans for them to do so).
:> :
:I admit it was an exaggeration to suggest that all email web clients use :IMAP to talk to the server. They could use proprietary protocols, or :simply have direct access to the mail files. My point was more that :because they are interacting with the mail store in the same way that an :IMAP client would, you get the same advantages (everything, including :statuses, tags, folders, etc.) is stored in the one place on the server.

The Comcast web client can also interact with external POP3 servers.
It most assuredly uses POP3 to do that and is quite able to delete
selected messages from those servers.


In that case their web client has its own local mail store. There is certainly nothing to stop an email client (web or otherwise) collecting mail by POP3 into its own local storage and giving folder-like views - that's what a POP3 client does. But many web mail clients specifically do not have any mail storage themselves - they interact with a backend mail storage or server.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: What is the diff between "POP3", "IMAP" and "SMTP"?
    ... POP3 and IMAP are different Mail reader server protocols. ... multiple client machines with a consistent mail folder tree. ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)
  • Re: POP3 Connector Errors
    ... STD 2003SBS for a client to recieve his email using the Default POP3 ... Our server is resolving DNS with FQDN with all systems ... but there was no response fromthe server. ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: exchange basics
    ... If you find users switching between client ... often pull the mail to a different store (as in POP3) and then wonder why it ... Exchange can inform and enforce quotas on mail storage. ... Server side rules? ...
    (microsoft.public.exchange.design)
  • Re: Problems with viewing mail via pop3 and OWA
    ... The problem is that a message in the mailbox is corrupted and the POP3 ... I have set ud an SBS Server for a client, and now i want to allow some ... The Website cannot pisplay the page (HTTP 500 Internal Server Error) ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Re: Migrating from Domino to Exchange 2003
    ... If there are no other way to get the contacts from the web client, ... I don't know how Domino saves the contacts information on the server and I ... Outlook 2003 for the users that are using the Lotus Notes webmail. ...
    (microsoft.public.exchange.admin)