[conspire] Re: Linux program to remove mail from server?

[Edmund J. Biow]

Eric De Mund wrote:

>] I've never had to look for a utility of the sort you describe, so I
>] turn out not to be the right guy to ask.
>
>I did poke around the other day to see if such a thing were out there in
>the Unix/Linux world. I started by looking at Mozilla and Thunderbird. I
>was shocked to find that these flagship projects did not support the
>functionality that Ed is looking for. As far as I can tell, they support
>multiple mail accounts just fine, but not the sometimes desired "delete
>before download" or "look before download" functionalities. I'm abso-
>lutely certain that these will appear in these products in future.
>  
>
I've looked around on various Mozilla forums and wishlists and requests 
for this sort of thing have been made repeatedly.  That said, it 
probably wouldn't be a trivial project (like making the sort of simple 
POP3 removal tool I'm looking for would probably be), since T-Bird, etc. 
don't pre-poll the email from the server, just download it wholesale.  I 
suspect it would require a fairly major redesign of the program. 

In fact, I've never seen an email client that has the capabilities I'm 
looking for (which is why I said I'm not completely satisfied with any 
email client, Windows or otherwise, despite liking a Outlooky layout). 

However some of the email removal tools do have a limited ability to act 
as a text-only POP3 client (Windows Ultrafunk Popcorn comes to mind), 
but they don't allow you to store mail, organize it, access multiple 
accounts automatically and at once, etc.

What I would really like is a program that could analyze the real return 
address of the sender from the header on the server and then give you 
the opportunity to bounce the message back if (as is not generally the 
case) it looks like it is not using a forged Reply-To address to which a 
bounce will just create more spam and confusion.  That way the sender 
might remove you from his spam list, figuring your account is inactive.  
Simultaneously, it would be great if the program could figure out who 
best to send an automatic CC spam report to, based on the spammers IP 
address, etc.  And while we're discussing fantasies, I'd like my email 
program to reverse-zombie all the trojaned Windows boxes that the 
spammer was using to generate his crap, take them over, then use them to 
send a non-stop blanket of ugliness right back at the spammers real IP 
addresses.  Maybe next year (that same year when Linux takes over the 
desktop that can only be calculated in terms of the same irrational 
number theory that generated the Infinite Improbability Drive of HHGTTG 
fame).

Of course, the email program would have to mimic some other email 
program's identification or you'd be setting yourself up for a special 
barrage of virus-infested spam once the spammers figured out what was 
going on.

>For now, however, I continue to have no answer to this query. I'll keep
>my eyes peeled, however.
>  
>
Thanks, Eric,

Ed

>Eric
>--
>"Every program in development at MIT expands until it can read mail."
>--unknown
>
>Eric De Mund              |   Ixian Systems, Inc.   | cell: 650.303.4336
>email: <ead at ixian.com>    | 650 Castro St, #120-210 |  fax: 240.282.4443
>http://www.ixian.com/ead/ | Mountain View, CA 94041 |  Y!M: ead0002
>
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