IMAP was (Re: tlug: kinput2 and mule)

["C. Oda" <craig@example.com>]

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tlug note from "C. Oda" <craig@example.com>
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On Sun, 9 Mar 1997, Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:

turnbull>    Craig> I'm trying a new system of reading mail.  I'm using Pine
turnbull>    Craig> 3.95 with IMAP4,
turnbull>
turnbull>IMAP4 tte naaaaaaani?

The short answer: cool

The long answer:
What is IMAP?

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. It is a method of
accessing electronic mail or bulletin board
messages that are kept on a (possibly shared) mail server. In other words,
it permits a "client" email program to
access remote message stores as if they were local. For example, email
stored on an IMAP server can be
manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office,
and a notebook computer while
traveling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth
between these computers. 

IMAP's ability to access messages (both new and saved) from more than one
computer has become extremely
important as reliance on electronic messaging and use of multiple
computers increase, but this functionality
cannot be taken for granted: the widely used Post Office Protocol (POP)
works best when one has only a single
computer, since it was designed to support "offline" message access,
wherein messages are downloaded and then
deleted from the mail server. This mode of access is not compatible with
access from multiple computers since it
tends to sprinkle messages across all of the computers used for mail
access. Thus, unless all of those machines
share a common file system, the offline mode of access that POP was
designed to support effectively ties the user
to one computer for message storage and manipulation. 


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transform all else."
Craig Oda 	craig@example.com	
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