Subject: Confused users -- moving of read messages

From: Klaus Zeuge <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 94 12:06:44 +0100

At my SunOS 4.1.3 site, we want to move read messages from file
/usr/spool/mail/$USER to file $HOME/mail/mailbox. To do this, the
users file .pinerc holds
	read-message-folder=mailbox

This works, but the messages and prompts in connection with this
confuses users. After having read a message (which was in folder
"INBOX", ie file /usr/spool/mail/$USER), and quiting Pine, the user is
asked whether to save the read messages to folder "mailbox". The user
answers "y" and the messages are copied. Next, Pine asks the user
whether the user wants to expunge the DELETED messages from folder
"INBOX".

This is what confuses the users. "What? I haven't deleted any
messages!".

Wouldn't it be better if the operation was -- instead of "save and
delete" -- presented as a "move" with an implicit delete and expunge
of the moved messages?

As an alternative, it might be better to ask the user first about the
save, then about a deletion of the saved messages and last about an
expunge of the deleted messages.

And no, setting
	feature-list=auto-move-read-msgs

doesn't help, as this only controls whether the user is asked about
the save of the messages to folder "mailbox", not whether the user is
asked about the expunge.

	/Klaus

PS As a warning, don't try putting
	read-message-folder=inbox

in the .pinerc file as the folder menu treats both "inbox" and "INBOX"
as aliases for the file /usr/spool/mail/$USER -- even if the file
$HOME/mail/inbox exists. On the other hand, SAVING to folder "inbox",
copies the message to the file $HOME/mail/inbox. As you understand,
the result is a bunch of users who can't find their previous read
messages, thinking their messages are lost ...

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From: Paul Ribeiro <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 08:19:02 -0500 (EST)

> /usr/spool/mail/$USER to file $HOME/mail/mailbox. To do this, the
You could also create a mail.TxT file in their home directory, this
will suck the mail out of spool into their home, but to the user
it will all be a part of the "INBOX".
/P

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From: VampLestat <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 16:16:55 -0800 (GMT-0800)

> it will all be a part of the "INBOX".

I've also done a small mod to the code suggested by the Pine team that 
does basically the same thing but uses ~/mbox.  I think the mail.TxT is a 
different mailbox format, isnt it?

_O_  Ryan L. Watkins                                       [email-masked]
 |   Academic Computing Services - California State University Long Beach    
 |   pgp key available via 'finger [email-masked]' or key server
     finger me for my current Depeche Mode Collection For Sale list

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From: David L Miller <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 21:57:12 -0800 (PST)

Correct, mail.TxT is Tenex format which is not compatible with other mail 
tools (including text editors ;)  However, it can be a very big win if 
you have a memory-constrained system.

|\ |  |\/|  David L. Miller    [email-masked]  (206) 685-6240
|/ |_ |  |  Software Engineer, Pine Development Team   (206) 685-4045 (FAX)
University of Washington, Networks & Distributed Computing
4545 15th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98105, USA