Re: Removing duplicate messages?

[Peter Bloomfield <peterbloomfield bellsouth net>]

On 04/28/2005 11:24:10 PM, Pawel Salek wrote:
> On 04/28/2005 03:10:08 PM, Andreas Schmidt wrote:
> > Hi, there,
> >
> > after sticking to 2.0.17-2 for a long time, I thought I'd give  
> > 2.3.0-2 a chance today. However, it's apparently just another  
> > one of those versions following 2.0.17-2 that don't have an  
> > easy way to remove duplicates.
> > [snip]
>
> We have discussed various implementation issues and we wonder  
> whether it is critical to move the duplicates to trash or it  
> would be ok to just mark them as deleted (which is simpler to  
> implement for imap)? One could flag the duplicates for a good  
> measure so that they could be easily identified with help of  
> Mailbox /Hide Messages [undeleted unflagged]

Perhaps "flag duplicates" would be a better option than "remove  
duplicates".  I've always been a little uncomfortable about  
removing them, even though they may be only marked as deleted,  
because two instances of a message with the same message-id may  
not be identical.  If they are flagged, they can be viewed in  
isolation as Pawel suggests (Hide Messages [unflagged]), and  
dealt with as you wish (Select All, then Delete or Move to  
Trash).  It's a few more keystrokes/menu choices, but you have  
more control (and responsibility!).