Hola Jermias :-)
"Jeremias Galletti" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> By the way, what are the differences between a
> RedHat 5.x and a 6.x system besides the kernel
> versions?
I'm not sure (I'm a SuSE user) but I think the
directory structure has change. Look for info at
http://www.redhat.com or ask it in a redhat user
mailing list. You can find some of them in the Red
Hat web site. I used Red Hat some time ago.
> Now I'm trying to getting the mail subsystem up
> and running. I make intensive use of email, and I
> have a dial-up account which I use with Windows 98
> and Pegasus Mail. I have created an extensive set
> of rules to classify my incoming mail into
> folders, to make the reading easier.
You mean that you've done it with procmail, don't
you? And you fetch your incoming mail from POP3
with fetchmail. Am I wrong?
OK. First I want to clarify something essential.
Probably you already now, but it's important.
folder = directory = place where files are stored in
Mac, Windows, KDE and ¿GNOME (I'm not sure)? use the
word "folder" instead of directory. Old Unix/Linux
and MS-DOS users say "directory".
And now, mail user agents (Pegasus, Mutt, Pine,
etc.) use the word "folder" to talk about a *file*
that stores email messages. I repeat: the mail
folders are, really, *files*.
Most of the time, this email folders (i.e. files
that store mail messages) are in mailbox format.
And this is the default behavior in Unix, and the
way you get your /var/spool/mail/* email "folders"
(files).
There is another email "folder" that is really a
folder: the maildir format. In maildir format you
have a folder that is really a folder (directory)
where the email messages are stored in separated
files.
As far as I know, procmail lets you classify messages
in email "folders" (really files) that are in
mailbox format. I use procmail and this is the way
I use it.
> I found that the mail is stored in the
> /var/spool/mail directory in a file named after
> the corresponding user. Is this the standard Linux
> behavior? I mean, is mail always stored in this
> directory?
As far as I know, yep.
> Pegasus Mail offers the option to work with Unix
> mailboxes. Are the files in the /var/spool/mail
> directory in this format?
Yep.
> I tried using mutt and elm, but they don't seem to
> be very great ... But maybe because I'm used to
> the Windows way ... Kmail seems to be better. What
> mail program do you recommend me? I'm looking for
> something like Pegasus and Eudora. I mean, I want
> an advanced, GUI-based mail program.
If you are an email maniac addicted to mailing lists,
like me, the you will love Mutt. It isn't easy, but
it's the most powerful and configurable MUA you can
obtain.
But now you are used to GUI-based email programs.
I've read an article about Linux programs for
Windoze users
(http://www2.linuxjournal.com/articles/currents/008.html).
When it talks about MUAs, it recommends the one that
comes with StarOffice. It's very similar to
Micro$oft Outlook. I've never tried it.
> But maybe in Linux there's no need for an advanced mail reader
> because all the mail filtering could be implemented with procmail,
> am I right?
Yep. But some MUAs can download the incoming mail
via POP3. If you download the message with those
MUAs instead of fetchmail, then, probably, your
messages won't be stored in /var/spool/mail/* and
they won't be procmail'ed :-( This is what happens,
for example, with Netscape Messenger.
If these MUAs use mailbox format, you can fetch your
incoming mail with fetchmail, filter it with
procmail, and store it in the folders of the MUAs.
> How should a big mail archive with messages
> classified into folders (or, in Linux language,
> directories) be implemented?
I've done it but now I don't remember. Try
$ man formail
You will need to pipe (|) the file that store the
messages thru formail. Something like
$ cat the_file_that_store_the_messages | formail ...
Hope this helps. If not, there is a procmail
mailing list:
--- From man formail ---
MAILINGLIST
There exists a mailinglist for questions relating to any
program in the procmail package:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
for submitting questions/answers.
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
for subscription requests.
--- ---
If you still have problems filtering your messages,
there is also a very good "filtering FAQ" about how
to use procmail. It is at ftp://rtfm.mit.edu . I
don't remember the subdir, perhaps
/pub/usenet-by-group/mail.misc/ .
Hasta luego. Salu2 desde España ;-)
--
Daniel González Gasull /\___/\ "I have seen the future
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] `)9 9(' and it is just like the
PGP RSA key 1024/EEA93A69 {_:Y:.}_ present, only longer."
hjw ---( )U-'( )--- -- Kehlog Albran,
``` ''' _The Profit_.
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