My email is currently printed on punch cards

September 15, 2005 7:25 AM

I want to upgrade my email software for the first time in 10 years. I currently use Postfix + Procmail + Spamassassin + Emacs VM + Gmail. What should I switch to?

I'm a Unix hacker who does all his real work on Linux, but uses Windows and Macs for UI instead of X Windows. I run my own mail server on my own hardware. At the moment I use Postfix to receive my mail with procmail and spamassassin to filter it and deliver to local .mbox files. Then I log into my server and use Emacs VM (in a vt100) to read my mail. Sometimes I use Gmail to search a copy of my mail.

I'd like to upgrade. I'm tired of not being able to deal well with HTML and fancy attachments. I'm sick of Emacs Unicode breakage. VM is old and clunky. It's been 10 years, I think probably there's something better now.

I'm actually fairly happy with the mail delivery and sorting, mostly I want a better mail client as an alternative to VM. And I'd like to have local search capability. I've just played with using DoveCot as an IMAP server with Thunderbird as an email client, and so far so good. Is this a good setup? What do the cool kids use?

I have a few cranky requirements. Free software only. Primary mail files have to be plain text, not locked away in some funky database. And I have to be able to read my mail from multiple clients; server-side IMAP is perfect for me. Gmail is cool but I want more control.

posted by Nelson to computers & internet (15 comments total)

You have no X server at all? I really like Sylpheed, but I think it runs only on X.

I think MH format is the way to go for storing mail locally. Better than mbox, anyway.
posted by sfenders at 8:12 AM on September 15, 2005

Zoe offered gmail-esque services long before gmail.
posted by bonaldi at 8:18 AM on September 15, 2005

I use cyrus for my imap server, mainly because it works well with debian. I use fetchmail to grab mail from various sources and push it into a set of procmail scripts to filter it into various mailboxes. I also pass stuff though SpamAssassain.

On the client side, I use Thunderbird if connected locally, it's been rock solid for the past few releases. When checking from work I ssh tunnel port 80 and use Squirrelmail though apache for web-based access. There may be a better web-based package out there, it was just the easiest for me to setup and use quickly. I nicer interface like gmail, outlook for web, or the new yahoo would be cool.

I would like to open it up so I could access the web-server from any box, but just don't have the time to keep on top of it from a security standpoint.

The one thing that's missing for me is addressbook management. I'd really like a centralized server to manage my addressbook via thunderbird, webmail, and sync with my pilot. Alas unless I write it myself nothing comes close. Currently I export my palm database, tweak the files, and run OpenLDAP. It's the least-bad solution I've found.
posted by beowulf573 at 8:23 AM on September 15, 2005

I don't quite understand why you do "real work" in linux, but use MS or Mac for your UI, then you say free software only. MS and Mac are not free in any sense of the word.

Have you tried Evolution? It's for X windows, but it's pretty slick. Plus, the new versions have spamasassin built in. Even if you are already filtering with SA, it's nice to have the integrated SA feature. The storing is done using the standard unix mbox format (text) and the sorting/search works really well.

If you insist on sticking with MS or Mac for the UI, I would second the Thunderbird suggestion.
posted by achmorrison at 10:37 AM on September 15, 2005

On Windows, I really like The Bat.

On UNIX, nothing beats mutt + vim (or emacs, in your case).

I'm even thinking about switching from The Bat to mutt. Its that good.

maildir for life. peace out.
posted by devilsbrigade at 12:12 PM on September 15, 2005

Cyrus IMAP makes me want to stab myself in the face. I switched to Courier from that. Much happier. But, any IMAP server, once running, is a good place to start. I recommend IMAP over SSL by the way, for security.

I read all my mail on my Mac using Mail.app. With OS X 10.4 and Searchlight, you have the sickest mail search ability you will ever need, built right in.

When I was a Linux On The Desktop guy I used Thunderbird and liked it, but now that I have a Mac I prefer its mail app by far.
posted by autojack at 12:29 PM on September 15, 2005

Have to run out, but some quick thoughts:

Ditch SpamAssassin and use GMail as your spam filter; much better at detecting and doesn't use any server resources apart from a single procmail command.

Client software: seconding Evolution; it works great and looks beautiful too. On a Windows box: Thunderbird. No question.

Gmail lite is a text-based interface to GMail that can run through Lynx.

Web-based IMAP? RoundCube. Still beta but works fine for me.
posted by blag at 1:15 PM on September 15, 2005

beowulf573 - have a look at roundcube. It might be the web interface you've been looking for.
posted by blag at 1:16 PM on September 15, 2005

I've been actively watching the development of Hula, waiting for the UI to come around. It looks like a release will be ready at the end of the year.

The deal breaker for me right now is integrated calendaring, which you just can't get outside of Outlook or Evolution. I've seen the UI demonstration for Hula, and if it lives up to that, it may be enough to move me in that direction. Right now I just have to wait and see.
posted by stovenator at 2:23 PM on September 15, 2005

Roundcube look cool, I'll give it a short. BTW, nothing against Squirrelmail, it's works just fine if you want a simple interface.
posted by beowulf573 at 3:29 PM on September 15, 2005

If you're tired of VM, but want to stay with Emacs, check out Wanderlust. It's pretty fast (much, much faster than Gnus, don't know how it compares to VM), has good IMAP support and knows how to deal with attachments, Unicode and so on. Downside is that it's user base is mostly Japanese-speaking.

Gnus is of course much more popular, but IMHO it's good at Usenet and lousy with everything else.
posted by reynaert at 4:23 PM on September 15, 2005

I'm REALLY happy with mutt. It'll take some time to configure to your liking, but it's worth it.

It has transparent support for mbox, mh folders, and maildir on a per-folder basis, so you won't have to convert your folders unless you want to (which also makes it very easy to try out).

I switched from mh-e a while ago, and it was seamless.
posted by Caviar at 8:23 PM on September 15, 2005

Thank you for all the suggestions! I'm going to move ahead with IMAP, Thunderbird, and Mail.app. If I need Webmail I'll try RoundCube, and if that's too flaky will use SquirrelMail.
posted by Nelson at 10:55 PM on September 15, 2005

Nelson- this OS X hint may come in handy if you're going to be doing IMAP SSL on Mail.app (which is what I do, and I love being able to Spotlight all my mail.)

Mac OS X 10.3 Mail: About SSL, IMAP accounts, and "Remember my decision"
posted by gen at 12:38 AM on September 16, 2005

Doh! I realized that I found that link on your linklog! Doh. Well, maybe others will find it useful.

:)
posted by gen at 12:39 AM on September 16, 2005