Re: any suggestions on mail client?
On Wed, Oct 30, 2002 at 01:07:51PM +0530, Sandip P Deshmukh wrote:
> hello all!
>
> after shifting from windows to linux, i am trying to see which mail
> program can i use. i need something that will
>
> - have facility to have folders: i will like to keep business,
> personal mails in different folders
>
> - have facility for 'groups': so when i send mail to 'music' it goes
> to all five e-mail addresses on the list
>
> - have facility of address completion: so when i start typing
> 'sandip' - the real name, it picks up corresponding e-mail address
>
> - have some automation built in: messages from a particular sender go
> to a particular folder, etc
>
> * is it better to separate this function from mail reader and
> use, say, procmail instead?
>
> - have ability of address books with custom fields and ability to
> import csv format address books
>
> * is it better to seperate address book from mail program?
>
> thanx in advance
>
> - sandip
>
>
You didn't say whether you have a strong preference for a graphical
mail client. I've been using mutt (console based), but toying with
the idea of alternatives. evolution and sylpheed both seem like
pretty strong contenders, and are graphical. You could also use
mozilla/netscape's graphical email facility.
Since no one has mentioned it, I'll say that an alternative to
procmail is to use exim's filtering and forwarding abilities via a
.forward file. exim was, and I think still is, debian's default mail
transport agent, so you may well be using it. I find the syntax less
obscure than procmail, though there are some tricks only procmail can
do (and possibly the reverse also).
One poster asserted that it was better to dump your mail into folders
outside of the mail client. I'm not sure why; several of the clients
mentioned above let you define automatic filtering of messages into
folders (and other such actions). I guess if you get a lot of mail it
might build up in your spool this way, but otherwise it should work.
Also, if you filter your mail outside your mail client, it's easier to
switch clients. But not always, as the next paragraph details.
One of the main things holding me back from switching to evolution is
that it uses a somewhat unusual mailbox format, one which
exim (but not procmail) is ignorant of. So that adds to the hassle of
switching, and you might want to consider such lockin when picking a
program and a format to store your mail (most programs support several
formats). "Lockin" is a bit strong, but it's just enough hassle to
have kept me from changing.
For command line mail clients, some people like pine. Awhile ago
someone posted an analysis of mail clients used to post to
debian-user; mutt was a heavy favorite. My guess is the graphical
clients may have come up since then. evolution was kind of buggy, but
I think it's fairly solid now.
P.S. mutt's motto is "All mail clients suck. This one just sucks
less." I also remember that in NeXtStep's early days about half of
all bugs reported were on the mail client. And the mail client was
nothing too fancy.
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