Re: Export/sync nmh folders to IMAP server

[Steffen Nurpmeso]

Philipp Takacs wrote in
 <E1o6zQu-0004Mb-KX@lists.gnu.org>:
 |[2022-06-29 21:07] Steffen Nurpmeso <steffen@sdaoden.eu>
 |> (I personally like a nice and so on, append-only MIME MBOX the
 |> most, and do not understand why people do not like it.
 |
 |Because mbox is a horrible file format. First of all it's only one file
 |so you have to build a folder stucture around it. Next it's hard to

It is a database.

 |delete (or move) mails if they not at the end of the file. These

Well yes you need to rewrite the file.  With Zawinskis Netscape
index approach it could instead be as easy as setting a bit.
Or you could reserve a byte in the Status: field of messages, but
it likely is as non-portable to other MUAs that access the file.

 |problems are not that bad depending on for what you want to use the mbox
 |and can solved by writing more and complex code.

Not at all complex.

 |The main problem is that there is not the mbox format, there are several
 |variants. Some variants don't allow arbatrary mails as content and most
 |(probably all) of them aren't realy specified. It's nearly impossible to
 |determ which variant you have. Therfor most software just implement one
 |variant and handle other variants incorrect. Jamie Zawinski explains the
 |details of the problems quite good[0].

Didn't we have this once in the past already??
To me MBOX is a database, and when you store MIME mail messages
there is no problem, as the format problem does not occur.
Otherwise anyone applies From_ quoting, i even had to readd this
to the MUA i maintain, because people do not want MIME.  So let
them love their ">From" (or even " From" from i think ezml), even
it modifies their thing.  You see this often on majordomo lists
etc.  I do not understand.  Of course when they PGP or S/MIME sign
their message, or use attachments, they do get MIME and then the
problem does not happen.

 |So please stop using mbox.

Not me.

 |Philipp
 |
 |Ps: what bugs me the most is when mbox is used to store exactly one mail

 |Pps: Sorry for the OT rant, but this bugs me every time I get a mbox

I empathise for the one line that makes a difference!

 |[0] https://www.jwz.org/doc/content-length.html
 --End of <E1o6zQu-0004Mb-KX@lists.gnu.org>

--steffen
|
|Der Kragenbaer,                The moon bear,
|der holt sich munter           he cheerfully and one by one
|einen nach dem anderen runter  wa.ks himself off
|(By Robert Gernhardt)