Bug#114564: RFP: web-imap -- web-based IMAP and NNTP access using apache/mod_perl

[Roderick Schertler <roderick@argon.org>]

Package: wnpp
Version: N/A; reported 2001-10-05
Severity: wishlist

WING is a web-based mail system written with mod_perl, originally by
Malcolm Beattie.  It accesses IMAP and NNTP servers.  The code is GPLed.
A blurb from the README is attached.  I'm recommending "web-imap" as the
package name because there's already a "wing" package, and "web-imap"
is what they're using at Sourceforge.

The package recently moved to Sourceforge, it's at
<URL:http://sourceforge.net/projects/web-imap/>.  There's not
much there apart from the source itself.  The previous home is at
<URL:http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mbeattie/wing/>, there's an older version
there.

If I can get to it I'll try to package it myself, but if somebody else
wants to have a try I encourage it.  I haven't started on the job.


Blurb:

WING is an Open Source Apache/mod_perl based system which allows users
to access email held on an IMAP server via any web browser.

WING provides a gateway so that users can access email held on an
IMAP server via any web browser. See
    http://users.ox.ac.uk/~mbeattie/wing/

Some features of WING are:

 * The browser does not need to support Java, JavaScript or frames
   but table and cookie support are preferable.
 * Users can create a hierarchy of multiple mailboxes and browse and
   move messages between them.
 * Messages with MIME attachments can be displayed nicely.
 * Per user defaults (such as screen size and mail signature) can be
   set and saved between sessions.
 * Files local to the client browser can be included in composed
   messages or MIME attached to them.
 * Arbitrary headers can be added to composed messages except that the
   "From:" header cannot be changed or forged for outgoing messages
   from WING.
 * WING is scalable up to thousands and tens of thousands of users.
 * Users can import address books by uploading them via their browser
   (only Pine format address books supported in this version).
 * Users can create their own links (bookmarks), presented in a
   hierarchical list which can be folded/unfolded.
 * Users can login using a "portal" view which provides a frame down
   the left hand side of the browser containing site-configurable
   links along with their personal links. This is the only part of
   WING which requires frame support from the browser.

When integrated with a mail cluster similar to the one we have here
at Oxford University, WING also has these features:

 * Users can manage their account via the WING interface. This includes
   changing passwords, querying disk usage of mailboxes and disk quota
   an setting mail forwarding and "vacation" messages.
 * Users can create address books which can be browsed, searched and
   shared in an ACL controlled manner with chosen lists of other
   users and groups.
 * WING server nodes can be added or removed transparently and can be
   taken down for upgrades without affecting user service.
 * There are a few web-based admin tools for querying the status of
   the WING cluster and its users.

-- 
Roderick Schertler
roderick@argon.org