[Dovecot] IMAP subscriptions - how, for what and why?

[Steffen Kaiser]

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006, Tom Alsberg wrote:

> Again, not a Dovecot issua - but can someone clarify better what IMAP
> subscriptions (SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE/LSUB) are and what they are used
> for?
>
> I've seen a few times in Microsoft mail clients, the options to
> subscribe to folders and to "show only subscribed folders".  I haven't
> played much with them, though.  But what's the actual point?  Except

The "reference IMAP" server UW-imap (http://www.courier-mta.org/fud/ ;) 
will by default serve an user's home directory awhole. So you have three 
options to NOT browse all your files on the server:

1) use a dedicated mail server, where only your mails are storred.
-> No use of "subscribe".

2) Use a "mail directory prefix" configured in each mail client, which is 
transparently added/removed during the client/server communication.
Then you see files (aka mailboxes) in this hierarchie only, but any of 
them.
-> No use of "subscribe".

3) If you enable "show only subscribed folders", then the subscription 
list is retrieved by the client and only these folders are displayed. If 
you like to view other folders as well, you have to subscribe to them. 
Actually, you can access any file (mailbox), but they are simply not 
shown,

Bye,

-- 
Steffen Kaiser