[Dovecot] IMAP Folders Don't Make Sense

[Frank Elsner]

On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:41:34 -0500 Carlos Williams wrote:
> I noticed for some reason that I am missing an IMAP folder called
> 'Symantec' that was under my Inbox. I see all my other folders listed
> on my mail client except 'Symantec'. I then login to my mail server
> which runs Postfix / Dovecot & there I can see it:
> 
> /home/cwilliams/Maildir
> [root at mail Maildir]# ls -la
> total 608
> drwx------ 33 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 13:23 .
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 23 13:24 ..
> drwx------  2 cwilliams it  53248 Feb 25 13:22 cur
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it   3048 Feb 25 12:42 dovecot.index
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it 178176 Feb 25 13:22 dovecot.index.cache
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it  54936 Feb 25 13:23 dovecot.index.log
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it 131124 Feb 10 16:18 dovecot.index.log.2
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it    121 Jul 15  2009 dovecot-keywords
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it   8190 Feb 25 13:13 dovecot-uidlist
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 12:47 .Drafts
> drwx------  2 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 13:27 .INBOX
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 08:55 .INBOX.ClamAV
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 08:54 .INBOX.Dell.Quotes
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 08:54 .INBOX.Dell.Warranty
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 08:55 .INBOX.IBM
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Oct  2  2008 .INBOX.Logs
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 08:55 .INBOX.Red Hat
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 23 09:26 .INBOX.Symantec
> drwx------  2 cwilliams it  32768 Feb 25 13:13 new
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 13:25 .Sent
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 17 08:37 .Spam
> -rw-------  1 cwilliams it    393 Feb 23 10:23 subscriptions
> drwx------  2 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 13:13 tmp
> drwx------  5 cwilliams it   4096 Feb 25 13:22 .Trash
> 
> As you can see above there is a .INBOX.Symantec directory and I can
> 'cd' into it and see all my messages:
> 
> /home/cwilliams/Maildir/.INBOX.Symantec
> [root at mail .INBOX.Symantec]# ls -l
> total 280
> drwx------ 2 cwilliams it  12288 Jan 21 17:39 cur
> -rw------- 1 cwilliams it   2352 Jan 21 17:39 dovecot.index
> -rw------- 1 cwilliams it 233472 Feb 22 08:17 dovecot.index.cache
> -rw------- 1 cwilliams it   8428 Feb 22 08:17 dovecot.index.log
> -rw------- 1 cwilliams it     41 Oct 12 09:50 dovecot-keywords
> -rw------- 1 cwilliams it   6665 Jan 21 17:39 dovecot-uidlist
> drwx------ 2 cwilliams it   4096 Oct  2  2008 new
> drwx------ 2 cwilliams it   4096 Jan 21 17:39 tmp

What is the content of file 'subscriptions'?

> However when I open Thunderbird & Webmail (both use IMAP), I see my
> Symantec folder under a 'Drafts' folder. When I try and click on the
> Symantec folder as a sub folder in 'Drafts', I get an error:
> 
> "The mail server responded:Mailbox doesn't exist: Drafts.Symantec"
> 
> So why does it show up there and why can't I see it normally with all
> my other IMAP folders under my Inbox. I am confused. Please help!

It might be useful to tell Thunderbird not only to show subscribed folders.
Edit -> Account settings -> Server settings -> Advanced, first check box.

There are some MUAs which create folders but do not add subscriptions
for the folders. The sylpheed I currently use is such a beast :-)