Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 21:18:07 -0600 From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> To: Robert Watson <rwatson@freebsd.org> Cc: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>, freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Good Mail Programs Message-ID: <15344.37103.718484.462052@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <Pine.NEB.3.96L.1011112054740.16646F-100000@fledge.watson.org> References: <15343.20416.209466.373774@guru.mired.org> <Pine.NEB.3.96L.1011112054740.16646F-100000@fledge.watson.org>
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Robert Watson <rwatson@freebsd.org> types: > On Sun, 11 Nov 2001, Mike Meyer wrote: > > Robert Watson <rwatson@freebsd.org> types: > > > There are no good e-mail programs. Every last one of them has serious > > > problems. > > That's a religious statement. I claim VM has no serious problems, so > > long as you're willing to convert to the emacs religion so you can use > > it. > > Actually, it's derived from evidence that I failed to provide. :-) > > I suspect the problem is that I'm not sure what I want out of a mail > client. For example: > > (1) I want it to be text-based so I can use it efficiently over a network > connection, and easily using only a keyboard. Got that. > (2) I want it to have integrated support for multi-media, easy access to > attachments, and tight integration with the system file manager. I > a clean mouse-driven GUI that can be used to sort mail into folders > using a more visual paradigm. Got that. > Likewise... > > (1) I want the power and flexibility of the UNIX-like mh and procmail > tools, allowing integration with arbitrary tools, including the > command-line PGP, shell scripts, arbitrary content handling, and > automated mail handling at delivery-time, not when I read the e-mail. Got that. > (2) I want my mail to be stored on a central mail server, transparent to > the operating system and mail client I use, capable of supporting > multiple client instances without locking conflicts or inconsistency, > and with support for cached and disconnected operation. I want my > mail client to be stateless and to be changeable like a lightbulb, not > like an apartment. Got that. > (1) I want my mail client to be flexible and confirable, adapting to my > complex mail needs: the ability to auto-sort mailing lists, even when > messages must be redundantly delivered to multiple folders; I want the > ability to have individual "sending" profiles automatically when > responding to mail in different folders, or pulled from different > souces; I want the ability to have arbitrary highlighting of message > contents, interest-based sorting, and other highly customized > feature-sets. Got that. > (2) I want my client to do the right thing out of the box, and to support > simultaneously the "configuration file" format, and complete > access to that format using easy-to-use text-driven or gui-driven > interfaces. I do not believe in m4 configuration, I do not believe in > configuration files that are hard to understand, counter-intuitive, > and a seemingly endless exploration of inconsistent variable names, > arbitrary hacks, and poor design. Got that. > Oh, and.. > > (1) I want my mail client to be native to the operating system, operating > smoothly, quickly, and in a manner supported by the vendor. Got that. > (2) I want my mail client to be secure. Got that. There are, of course, some caveats - mostly because I haven't explored the full power of VM. For instance, if you store your mail on a central server, you almost certainly give up the power to use all the Unix-like tools on it, depending on the server in question. Using other mail clients on the central server will depend on the server, not VM, though VM covers up for that quite a bit by allowing you to access a single instance of VM from different places and different operating platforms makes up for quite a bit. I consider "installs from ports" to qualify with that last #1. > Emacs, as you point out, requires you to learn a new religion (and > life-style), not to mention elisp. The latter two are part of the religion :-) > Clearly, I cannot be satisfied by any real-world software, and I should be > relegated to the pit of dispair, or possibly the list of people who write > their own operating system, not necessarily because they can invent the > better mousetrap, but because the only way they can find a system that > meets their every need is to customize it to the point where it annoys > everyone else. :-) There's nothing wrong with wanting to use the cc configuration tool! > I firmly believe no mail client can satisfy me, but I am eagerly awaiting > the day that I am proven wrong, so that I can suddenly become an organized > person with small mailboxes, who can find the message that they're looking > for, and feel safe recommending the software to a friend. Ah - finding the message you're looking for - that's a different story. I recommend WAIS for that. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/ Q: How do you make the gods laugh? A: Tell them your plans. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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