CAN WE SAY "GET THE MAIL"

[Ian Bicking <bickiia@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tom Schaefer writes:
[snipsnipsnip]
> Eudroa has been able to ACTUALLY GO OUT AND DOWNLOAD THE MAIL
> AUTOMATICALLY FOR YEARS.
> 
> THE REASON I'M WRITING IN CAPS - YES IT'S SHOUTING - IS BECAUSE THIS IS
> SO FUCKING SIMPLE.
> 
> I WANT YOUR EMAILER TO DO TWO SIMPLE THINGS:
> 
> 1. CHECK THE MAIL EVERY 5 MINUTES
> 
> 2. IF THERE'S MAIL, DOWNLOAD IT FOR CHRIST'S SAKE AND SOUND AND ALARM.
> (Play a wav or au file)

fetchmail is really the right way to do this.  It downloads mail in a
way that fits well into Un*x.  It's small and can run as a daemon, so
it's practical to always have it running (which isn't the case for a
browser).  Once the mail is downloaded, xbiff (or the shell) does a
fine job of alerting you about new mail.  Then you can use whatever
mail reader you wish.

IMHO, this is a good setup.  A mail reader should read mail, not be a
mail delivery agent -- beware the Feature Beast, for the power he
offers is seductive, but if you are not wary of him he shall suck the
life from your limbs and the soul from your program.


Windows/Mac would do well to have a clean, standardized manner of
dealing with mail, as Un*x does.  Perhaps Mozilla can attempt to
create this, and create seperate (complementary) programs for fetching
mail and informing the user about new mail.


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|| Ian Bicking                 |  bickiia@xxxxxxxxxxx ||
|| drawer #419 Earlham College |  (765) 973-2537      ||
|| Richmond, IN 47374          |                      ||
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