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classic:mailbox_changes

Mailbox Changes

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Updated information at: Classic Linux.

Also please see: https://discourse.rahul.net/.


As we migrate to newer Classic Linux servers, the location of your incoming mailbox will change. This change will be visible to some users and invisible to others.

If you get your incoming mail via POP or IMAP, the change should be invisible to you.

If you get your incoming mail by logging into the Unix shell, the change will likely be visible to you. Details of this will be found on other pages, including:

The information below may require some technical background to fully understand. Due to the need to support POP/IMAP users, Linux shell users, and users who write procmail scripts, some things in the Classic Linux environment can get slightly complicated. We also have a less confusing directadmin environment suitable for those who prefer a web interface for everything.

Mailbox Terminology

The term old inbox refers to the inbox that you see on the older Classic Linux servers. It resides within /var/spool/mail/USER on the old servers, where USER is your login name.

The term new inbox refers to the inbox that you see when you use the newer Classic Linux servers when they come online. It will contain nothing until after we switch over to the new servers. It resides as a Maildir format mailbox in the directory Maildir within your home directory.

Reserved Directories

After the migration is completed, the following (case-sensitive) directory names will be reserved as follows:

  • The directory Maildir within your home directory will be used as Maildir-format directory for mail. Do not use it for any other purpose.
  • The directory Mail within your home directory will serve as a container within which each file should be a mailbox in the old format.

Keep all your mail folders within the “Maildir” directory. This will make it easy to access them from any IMAP client. If you had any folders anywhere else, we recommend moving them into the “Maildir” directory. We can do this for you upon request—please see our problem-reporting procedure on the mail system migration page.

Namespaces

Namespaces can be confusing. If any of the following doesn't make sense, we suggest not worrying about it.

A namespace is a name for a collection of mailboxes. After the mail system migration is complete, the IMAP server will implement the following namespaces.

  • Your inbox will reside within your “Maildir” directory, and both this directory and the inbox will reside within a namespace with an empty name. You will access your Maildir inbox and any mail folders that reside within your “Maildir” directory simply by their own names, without having to specify a name for a namespace. Your inbox will just be called INBOX and a folder called “travel” within your “Maildir” directory will just be called “travel”.
  • Mail folders within your “Mail” directory will reside in a namespace called “#Mail”. From within Squirrelmail, for example, mail folders within your “Mail” directory will appear by names of the form “#Mail/…”. For example, a mail folder called “travel” that resides in your “Mail” directory will appear within Squirrelmail as “#Mail/travel”.
  • A hidden namespace called “#Home” will make your entire home directory available to any IMAP client that can access this namespace. Only those IMAP clients can access this namespace that allow you to manually enter a namespace name.
  • A hidden namespace called “#mail” will make your “mail” directory available to any IMAP client that can access this namespace. Only those IMAP clients can access this namespace that allow you to manually enter a namespace name.
classic/mailbox_changes.txt · Last modified: 2021/01/30 02:36 by admin