On Mon, Sep 20, 1999 at 12:40:27PM -0700, Racer X wrote:
> > > DJB's specs on maildirs mention nothing about folders, so you cannot
> point
> > > to any implementation as being right or wrong, because there is no right
> > > or wrong way. Blame Dan Bernstein for an incomplete design.
>
> Maildir was designed to ensure that messages could be written safely by an
> MTA without having to worry about locking out an MUA that's accessing the
> folder at the same time. once the messages are on disk it's the UA's
> problem to filter/move them around. yes, i'm considering a filtering
> program run out of dot-qmail to be a UA; i don't think it's fair to consider
> it part of the TA.
>
> > What is your recommendation for creating in Maildir format:
>
> somehow i doubt you're going to get an answer from dan on this one. my
> personal feeling is "let the UA decide how it wants to make folders," as
> it's an issue of policy and not function.
And yet, if multiple MUAs are free to implement any way they feel, then
there is no recommended way and different MUAs cannot nicely co-exist. Take the
example of a Mutt user who uses a webmail program to access mail. If the
two MUAs work differently, they can't see each other's folders.
If there were a recommended way to implement these well-known features, it
could reduce confusion and support peaceful co-existence between UAs.
Thanks...
Randy
