[dovecot] mbox vs maildir debate (was re: subject concerning binc imap, even though my original message never touched on it or maildir)

[Ian R. Justman]

Tried sending this message with the original topic

On Mon, 17 Feb 2003, Andreas Aardal Hanssen wrote:

> Hi, Ian. Cross-posting discussions like this is usually not appreciated
> by those who subscribe to both foras, so I'll limit it to the Dovecot
> list.

Mea culpa.

That was an inadvertent mess-up on my part; I did not see the headers,
usually going by the list's reply-to headers which are usually there, but
not this time.  I only "cross-posted" it because the first time, it went
to the wrong list (the dovecot list was a CC line).  I then remailed it to
the correct list.  I will be more careful in future.

> >Basically, if you open via IMAP using a server with a diffent locking
> >Additionally, the number of mbox POP3 servers which Do Not Suck(R) is
> >rather low right now.  Timo finally introduced an mbox IMAP server which
>
> This I don't agree with. Most existing POP3 servers are quite ok, and
> one POP3 Maildir server that is excellent and bug free since 1998,
> qmail-pop3d, is quite a piece of art.

You are missing my point. I am not talking about POP3 servers in general.
See below.

> >Not to mention, quite frankly, most mbox POP3 implementations suck
> >pretty badly anyway. :P
>
> This I do agree with. Don't confuse POP3 servers in general with mbox
> POP3 servers. The root, the source of the evil is the storage format
> mbox.

<Rest of argument re mbox vs. maildir removed>

I am specifcally targeting mbox POP3 servers, of which there are several
implementations; Qpopper, GNU POP3 Server, Cucipop, ipop3d to name a few.

I am NOT speaking to maildir, nor to Cyrus, nor to SQL-enabled products.
Solely to mbox.  In fact, I even said that stuff that talks to maildir, in
addition to Cyrus, offered the one thing for IMAP you could not get with
mbox until Dovecot came along; something resembling robust dealing with
multiple clients to the same mbox store.

Nor am I particularly insterested in debating the merits of any format
over mbox, a format I have stated I -KNOW- has annoying technical
limitations and issues.  While I would imagine other formats may have
advantages over mbox, I continue to use mbox simply because of the sheer
amount of stored mail I have accumulated on all my machines for the past
seven years.

My point is that Dovecot seems to be the most robust IMAP server I have
come across at coping with mbox stores, especially if I am trying to
access the same mailbox with two different clients, whether intentionally
or inadvertnetly.  My hope is that Dovecot's POP3 server will prove just
as robust at dealing with mailboxes that may also be open by an IMAP
client.

Whether Dovecot, BINC IMAP, or even Courier IMAP (or whichever POP3 server
for that matter) are better for maildir or anything else, I will leave
that debate to those who actually use them.

In the end, I have made a choice.  Not necessarily the best one, but I
made the choice with the full understanding of what that choice would
entail.  However, you never know.  I may change my mind later.  ;)

--Ian.