Re: [Evolution] IMAP vs. POP



On Thu, 2010-03-18 at 04:34 -0600, Bart wrote:
On Wed, 2010-03-17 at 09:06 -0430, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
On Wed, 2010-03-17 at 08:42 -0400, Adam Tauno Williams wrote:
On Wed, 2010-03-17 at 05:13 -0600, Bart wrote:
Hope this is not too far off topic.
I am using pop for all my email accounts.  I receive all my mail on one
machine at one location.  But I keep seeing remarks that indicate IMAP
as being just "SO" much better.
Would someone either explain or point me to a place where I can learn
the reasons for these comments?

It depends upon your server;  if you have a powerful full-featured IMAP
server like Cyrus IMAPd [you can get a free Cyrus IMAP account at
<http://fastmail.fm/>] you can really exploit the power of a real
mailbox management protocol and server features.  If you are using some
hack ISP's IMAP implementation then it may not matter - or your ISP may
provide nothing but POP3.

With IMAP you can have multiple folders on the server, move messages
between folder [on the server], access the mailbox from multiple
clients/hosts/interfaces, etc... all of which are impossible with POP
[which simply uses the INBOX on the server as a store-and-download
bucket].  Mail on the server is backed up by the server admins - a BIG
advantage over mail stored on the client.

If your server supports it you can also setup rules [filters] on the
server that are invoked when the message is *delivered* vs. the crappy
client side filters that most mail clients try to implement.  There is a
lot of power in having the server filter [discard, file into folder,
flag as important, forward, auto respond, etc...] your messages - it
happens even when you are on vacation.   Real IMAP servers also let you
set annotation on folders that might do things like discard messages
after a certain number of days;  again, without you having to do
anything [you don't even have to login].

While all of this is true, it should also be said that Evo doesn't
support server-side filtering or folder annotations, so you have to use
some other means to set these up.

poc

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First, thanks for the rapid and thorough responses.

Quite a few valid reasons for IMAP.  Except.  In my situation, I don't
need backup by an administrator, I'm him.  All the accounts on my single
machine are from only two hosts.  I don't need auto vacation messages.
I keep my folders quite small in size/number of messages.  I have a huge
distrust of having personal stuff on someone else's computer.  I know it
passes through one, but it doesn't stay.

Would you agree in my situation I am as well served with POP3 as IMAP?

If you never want to leave any messages (whatever their nature) on a
server, then there's little difference, but note that with IMAP you can
easily store some messages locally and others remotely. It's just more
flexible.

poc




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