Re: BUG: Tools Meanu -> "Read Mail" is TOO DANGEROUS

[Kai Großjohann]

On 04 Mar 2001, Jari Aalto wrote:

> I believe VM also reads $MAIL and doesn't move it. Gnus also can
> read $MAIL directly and only if configured, it moves mail to
> backends.

I'm not sure, but I think VM moves mail to ~/INBOX.

Gnus does not provide a (practical) possibility to read mail without
moving it into the home dir.

> The problem is the format: babyl, which is not know to any other 
> MUA out there, at lest not to those of mainstream.

The program `b2m' is your friend...

> In my opinion the RMAIL should not be the default Mail reader now
> when Gnus in in Emacs. Gnus is more standard with the rest of the
> MUAs and it could be configured so that (G f $MAIL) it reads $MAIL
> when user selects Tools->Mail. This way nothing irreversible would
> happen even if user decided not to use Gnus yet for full time.

Well, but `G f' does not allow the user to delete email.  I'm sure
they won't like that.

>| At least Emacs has "M-x unrmail".
> 
> Sure, but it has already destroyed $MAIL content. It won't put the
> mail back to $MAIL. Poor user if helpless with his mutt, elm, pine
> even after this.

Yes, maybe a program `unmovemail' would be useful which moves mail
back from a file to /var/spool/mail/jrl.

kai
-- 
Be indiscrete.  Do it continuously.