Re: Problem with /var/mail file > 2GB with pop3
On Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:25:28 +0100
Flo <debianflo@gmx.at> wrote:
> On 11/23/20 7:05 AM, David Wright wrote:
> > On Sun 22 Nov 2020 at 18:57:46 (+0100), Flo wrote:
> >> On 2020-11-22 01:04, deloptes wrote:
> >>> David Wright wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> I can't understand how anyone would want to have a live INBOX
> >>>> file containing 2GB of emails. Apart from the risks, it just
> >>>> seems so disorganised.
> >>>
> >>> I don't even try - there are all kinds of people out there - and
> >>> everybody is free. And surprisingly the OP recompiles the
> >>> package. In this case it is enough to just point out the nonsense
> >>> of the subject "Problem with /var/mail file > 2GB with pop3".
> >>
> >> Let's assume an average message size of 20MB. Then 100 messages are
> >> enough to make it INBOX file that big. This doesn't necessarily
> >> mean that this is disorganized.
> >
> > Let's assume an average word length of 10 characters, completely
> > excessive. That would give an email of 2 million words. That would
> > give you about 4000 pages of single-spaced text. No one writes
> > emails like that; not even Proust, were he alive.
> >
> > So these hefty emails are really files being transferred as
> > attachments, aren't they? And having been transferred, one would
> > usually archive the files, and move the emails out of the live
> > INBOX into other mail files or directories.
> >
> > Perhaps not. What would be the advantage of leaving 100 such
> > sizeable files in a live INBOX?
> >
>
> To have them (files and context) available on a other devices as well
> for a limited amount of time. Not only on the device where the files
> are archived.
That's why we have IMAP, which doesn't use mbox.
I have about 3GB emails live on my IMAP server, accessible to all my
devices, that's about 20 years' worth.
--
Joe
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