Re: Filtering

[Jules Bean <jmlb2 hermes cam ac uk>]

On Thu, 27 Jan 2000 dbarron@ilinkusa.net wrote:

> I'm not a developer of Balsa, but I'm going to throw in my .25 cents
> (inflation you know).  I have to agree that we should be thinking that
> most people aren't gonna know how to install sendmail OR procmail on their
> own boxes (and shouldn't need to run them (imho)).  Remember, the
> goal (Linus) is world domination on the desktops.

That's not my goal.  I'm not sure it's Linus's, in fact.  

My goal is simply for Linux to have excellent software.  If some foolish
people (many even) still choose not to use it, I don't care much.

The goals we should be focussing on are technically excellent solutions,
which give the user the power to intuitively, and easily, do everything he
wants to :-)  That's all..

> However, searches/views/filtering are very necessary to have in the
> product.  Though, I must admit, there is quite a bit of overlap in the
> group that is technical enough to install and configure procmail and those
> that WANT filtering (Joe user won't want/understand/know about filtering).
> Hmm, having said that...what exactly am I arguing for?:)
> I'm not sure I know...but I do know that I like being able to filter..I'm
> a sysadmin and very much a Unix/C "nerd".  To me the logical place for ME
> to filter is in the MTA (whether that means I use balsa to pop/imap
> messages from the provider) or I use fetchmail/sendmail to pop/imap them
> off the provider.  It's also nice to be able to filter on messages in the
> current mailbox also (once it gets so big and you want to break it down
> yet again for manageability).
> I'm arguing for balsa having the functionality integral to the core balsa
> mailbox code (I think).

Your paragraph is confused, I think.

An MTA is a Mail Tranmission Agent, like sendmail.  An MDA is a Mail
Delivery Agent, like procmail (sendmail also has a built in MDA for simple
mailbox delivery).  An MUA is a Mail User Agent, like balsa.

Programs like fetchmail don't really fit into the picture.  I think of
them as extensions of the MUA, but you could argue it as an extension of
any of the three...

Jules
 
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|  Jelibean aka  | jules@jellybean.co.uk         |  6 Evelyn Rd	       |
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|  Julian Bean   | jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk        |  TW9 2TF *UK*       |
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