Re: mutt - no incoming mailboxes defined

[Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com>]

On Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:58:51 +0000, john gennard wrote:

> I've been using Debian since Slink days, but I'm now 81 and had a stroke
> some 30 months ago which has done severe damage to my brain.

Get my sincerely congrats, sir, for still having the joy to play with 
computers and messing with Mutt :-)
 
(...)

> Would someone kindly explain what Mutt does when it launches, 

If you run Mutt with debug flag you will get more information:

mutt -d2

And then:

cat .muttdebug0

(don't send this log file to any public source because it can contain 
sensitive data, is just for your review)

> and give the .muttrc entries for mbox, maildir (which I use), and how
> Mail fits in. I run from my user John's home directory.

Are you using a local mailbox or a pop3/imap local account?

There's a nice guide here:

My first mutt / Mail storage
http://mutt.blackfish.org.uk/storage/

> Sorry to ask such a simple question, but it's so frustrating to be in
> this state.

There is nothing to sorry about. Mutt configuration it can be a bit 
cryptic. I still barely use the 15% of its capabilities :-P

Greetings,

-- 
Camaleón