On Tue, 2005-03-01 at 09:03 +1100, Brian May wrote: > >>>>> "Michelle" == Michelle Konzack <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > >> > inefficient at storing large number of very small files (due > >> to block > size limitations of file system), and more > >> complicated to > transfer/move/share. > > Michelle> What is complicate ? You need only the right > Michelle> programs... > > Perhaps I should elaborate on this point. > > If I want to allow people to download a mbox folder (consider mailing > list archive), all I do is put in under a HTTP accessible > directory. People only need to download one file, and IIRC, there is a > standard (or defacto standard) MIME type for mbox files. I believe a > browser will automatically start mutt. In fact, I believe this will > work even if the file is gzipped. > > Now take Maildirs... Sure, I could tar.gz the entire directory, but > this means the recipient must manually untar it before accessing it. > I don't believe there is a standard MIME type to distinguish these > files either. As far as your browser is concerned, it isn't "Maildir" > format, it is "gzipped tar format".
You mean you don't gzip mbox files before putting them "out there" for public access? Besides, there's always maildir2mbox, or a wrapper around whatever library call that any MUA (like Evo & KMail) uses when it moves things from a Maildir folder to an mbox "folder". > Also, all mailing list software I have seen so far exclusively uses > mbox files. Sure, since all it does is append. > Sure, these are implementation issues that could be solved, but > currently mbox wins. In certain narrow cases. Any time, though, that you have the MUA updating a big mbox at the same time an MTA is writing to it, issues will occur. And then there's NFS. If $USER is mounting $HOME, then mbox files could get corrupted, but Maildir won't. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson, LA USA PGP Key ID 8834C06B I prefer encrypted mail. "You don't want give people a reason to not invite you to the hot parties." Pat Sajak, on being a Republican in Hollywood -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]