Subject: possible imaprc.txt erratum

From: Mark Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 10:33:19 +0200

In the following passage of imaprc.txt, shouldn't the sentence

    If INBOX is empty, it defaults to system standard.

read

    If INBOX does not exist, it defaults to system standard.

> 1) set new-folder-format
>     sets what format new mailboxes are created in.  This also controls
>     default delivery via tmail and dmail.
>  
>     a) set new-folder-format same-as-inbox
>        Folder is created using the same mailbox format as INBOX.  If
>        INBOX is empty, it defaults to system standard.
>  
>     b) set new-folder-format system-standard
>        This is the default.  Folder is created using the wired-in system
>        standard format, which on most UNIX systems is ordinary UNIX
>        /bin/mail format.  On SCO systems, this is MMDF.
>  
>     c) set new-folder-format
>        Folder is created using the given driver name, e.g. mbx, unix,
>        mmdf, etc.
regards,

Mark
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From: Mark Crispin <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 16:15:34 -0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)

The text is correct.  If INBOX is an empty file, it defaults to the system 
standard (which is traditional UNIX format on most systems, but MMDF on 
SCO).

-- Mark --

http://staff.washington.edu/mrc
Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.

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From: Mark Brand <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 09:02:50 +0200

Mark,
> The text is correct.  If INBOX is an empty file, it defaults to the
> system standard (which is traditional UNIX format on most systems, but
> MMDF on SCO).
>
I see your point. "Empty" means empty in the sense of "contains zero
bytes" rather than "contains zero messages" (since it describes a file
rather than a mail folder). I was thinking that the passage neglected to
specify what happens if the mail folder file INBOX does not exist, but
then I realized that I was making another subtle misinterpretation. I
think I grasp now that INBOX is the imap abstraction equivalent to the
mail folder INBOX in $HOME or, when this does not exist, the incoming
mail spool file. But still, even with this understanding, what happens
if there is no INBOX at all?

Mark

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From: Mark Crispin <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 08:54:29 -0700 (PDT)

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005, Mark Brand wrote:
> But still, even with this understanding, what happens

That's where magic begins.  You'll have to read the code in the dummy 
driver to understand.

-- Mark --

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From: "Mark Brand" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005 21:26:37 +0200 (CEST)

> That's where magic begins.  You'll have to read the code in the dummy

Now that you mention it, I had noticed a number of almost supernatural
properties in imap.

Probably because the documentation is otherwise so thorough, the omission
of this case, slight as it is, sort of stands out.