Re: Bug#30433: mutt: Mutt doesn't create the user's mail file as dictated by policy manual

[Oscar Levi <elf@buici.com>]

I sent another message to Wichert describing how mutt differs from
mailx.  Mailx reports simply:

  No mail for <user>.

Mutt *appears* to catch an error condition, a deceptive response to a
missing mailbox file.  Also note that mutt will start if the mailbox
file is empty.  Mailx will not.

On Mon, Dec 07, 1998 at 11:24:06AM +0100, Ulf Jaenicke-Roessler wrote:
> Wichert Akkerman wrote:
> 
> > Previously Oscar Levi wrote:
> > > Section 5.5 of the policy manual states that MUAs must create user
> > > mail boxes if they don't exist.  Mutt returns an error if a user's
> > > mailbox is absent.
> > 
> > No it does not. Policy says a MUA `must recreate it if needed'. And
> > since the mailbox is empty anyway there mutt cannot show its contents
> > and has no reason to create it.
> > 
> > More importantly, if you mailbox does not exist mutt cannot determine
> > what kind of mailbox (standard mailbox, maildir) you will use, so it
> > cannot create an empty one.
> 
> Does this mean that this is correct behaviour of mutt?
> 
> I reported a similar (the same?) bug some time ago (#26758). I cannot even
> start mutt if the user's mailbox doesn't exist.
> I get the same error as reported here and I guess the original submitter
> has the same problem.
> 
>   Ulf
>