Re: Some feature suggestions

[Ric Tibbetts <ric tibbetts chadera oz net>]

I really have to interject a STRONG objection here.
I've been a big "balsa hopeful" for a long time. Even doing a fair amount of
prodding when I thought things were coming to a halt.

	I'm glad to see that someone has picked up the ball and is going to
re-start this project, but I think that some time needs to spent examining what
the product is going to be. Reading through the below, all I see it IMAP this,
and IMAP that, and that since the developer doesn't use POP, well, he'll jsut
develop IMAP.
	For those that haven't caught up yet, how I see this translating is:
Screw POP... I'm going to develop IMAP.... Meaning... balsa will remain as good
as usless to those of us who rely on multiple POP accounts.

	POP means "client side filtering", and multiple POP account
capabilities. Without that, balsa is just more floatsam.
	Maybe I'm just being grouchy, but I've watched a potentially great
product wither away from neglect, only to be revived by "I only have IMAP"...
	I have to say it: If you're going to develop the product, then develop
the "whole" product. don't leave a major portion of the user base out in the
cold.

	Sigh.. will us POP users EVER have a decent E-Mail package, or are well
all destined to live with Netscape & Pine?

	Flame away if you're going too. I'm to tired of this to care.

		Ric


 On Tue, 18 May 1999, Jules Bean wrote:
> Right.  I got balsa CVS working - thanks all, especially Richard.
> 
> So - ways forward.  I'll start with some specific features I plan to
> implement, and then move on to more general ideas:
> 
> 1) SMTP mailing
> 
> I need this implemented before I can use balsa - I don't have a working
> local MTA (they're hard to set up, due to local CS rules). So this'll be
> my first job.
> 
> 2) IMAP improvements
> 
> My email access is exclusively IMAP, so this is where I expect to do
> most work.
> 
> a) Scan for folders:
> 
> I read about 30 mailing lists, in separate folders.  I'm damned if I'm
> going to add them by hand.  So balsa nmust be able to scan for folders
> (this is a simple IMAP command).
> 
> b) Check for new mail in every folder
> 
> As soon as this is implemented, balsa becomes more functional than
> netscape for me, since netscape can't do this, so I'll probably switch
> for almost all my email needs.
> 
> 3) Threading
> 
> Reading large mailing lists is *so* much easier with threading. 
> However, this isn't particularly easy to do - requires some design
> thought, to do it right,
> 
> 4) Modularise message sources
> 
> Balsa already has a reasonably modularised architecture, which is good. 
> However, it doesn't support everything that IMAP and NNTP need to work
> nicely.  Yes, I said NNTP.  I want balsa to read my news, too.
> 
> 5) Sophisiticated off-line usage
> 
> IMAP is a protocol designed with some very neat features for simple
> off-line usage, with the ability to synchronise the local message cache
> with the remote server, even though you may have logged in at work and
> deleted some messages.  To my knowledge, only netscape (out of the linux
> mailers) does this properly.
> 
> 
> Well... there's the kind of ideas I'm thinking about.  I have lots more,
> too - multiple personalities, cascading preferences - but they may have
> to wait.
> 
> First I have to familiarise myself with the code, anyhow.  But I thought
> a message like this might reassure people on the list that balsa isn't
> dying..
> 
> Jules
> 
> -- 
> /----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------\
> |  Jelibean aka  | jules@jellybean.co.uk         |  6 Evelyn Rd        |
> |  Jules aka     |                               |  Richmond, Surrey   |
> |  Julian Bean   | jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk        |  TW9 2TF *UK*       |
> +----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------+
> |  War doesn't demonstrate who's right... just who's left.             |
> |  When privacy is outlawed... only the outlaws have privacy.          |
> \----------------------------------------------------------------------/
> 
> 
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