Re: [Evolution] Initial run moved many emails from IMAP folders to Junk

[Pete Biggs <pete biggs org uk>]

> I installed evolution on archlinux via the pacman package manager.

It is more helpful if you tell us the version of Evolution you are
using.  For some queries the desktop you are using is also important.

> My mail server has a self issued cert, and I had some trouble getting
> evolution to connect at all. This required continuing to re-enter the
> IMAP and SMTP passwords on initial account creation.

The self signed certificate should only need to be accepted once per
account; that shouldn't require you to enter the password multiple
times.  They aren't connected as far as I know.

The passwords are stored in gnome-keyring so that needs to be running
in order to not be re-prompted for passwords.

> Once evolution started to sync my existing mail store to the local
> computer, I noticed a very troubling thing: many many emails were
> showing up in the Junk folder. In my existing thunderbird client
> configuration, I don't use the Junk folder at all. Mail deemed SPAM
> is moved directly to the Trash folder, which I review before
> emptying.

How do you deem the mail to be SPAM?

> Quite a number of these emails are from deeply nested IMAP folders
> where I squirrel away many tens of thousands of historic emails from
> the last several decades.
>
> Now, several hundred of these IMAP folder emails are deposited into
> the JUNK folder.

If you have not changed the configuration at all, then the Junk folder
is virtual - i.e. it shows the messages that have been marked as Junk,
the messages themselves are still in their original folders, you just
can't see them (View -> Show Junk messages). You can mark the messages
as "Not Junk" and they will reappear and not be shown in the Junk
folder.

You should be aware that Trash is also a virtual folder by default. The
Trash folder shows the messages that are marked as deleted. Again, by
default those deleted messages are hidden (View -> Show deleted
messages). Since the Trash is virtual, there is no concept of "Move to
Trash".

This can be configured on an a per account basis - i.e. the Junk and
Trash can be real folders.

> This doesn't seem like initial behavior that is intended to keep new
> users happy 8-(
>
> My reading of the online docs prior to first execution indicated that
> Evolution used external programs to perform spam detection, and that
> it wouldn't be enabled by default.

Yes, but if the messages are marked as junk by something else then they
will appear in the virtual Junk folder.

> What should I do to prevent Evolution from trashing my mail archives?

Edit -> Preferences -> Mail Preferences -> Junk

Then untick the "Check incoming messages for junk" to turn off Spam
checking.


P.