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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > .Mac users: IMAP or POP?

View Poll Results: .mac: IMAP or POP?
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IMAP 22 votes (56.41%)
POP 8 votes (20.51%)
Don't use .mac email 9 votes (23.08%)
Voters: 39. You may not vote on this poll
.Mac users: IMAP or POP?
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iBean
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Sep 1, 2003, 07:00 PM
 
I've been using IMAP to access my .mac email but I've realized that maybe POP is "easier" to use. The point of IMAP is to keep your messages on the server, but with a 15MB storage is hard to keep some emails (e.g., the ones with attachments) in the server. So I end up downloading must of my messages to my local mail box.

Anyway, tying to make up my mind
How do you use it?

edit: forgot to mention, sometimes I use my iMac to check email, sometimes my iBook... as I end up downloading most emails, sometimes I don't even know to which mac I downloaded a specific message.
( Last edited by iBean; Sep 1, 2003 at 07:05 PM. )
     
zigzag
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Sep 1, 2003, 07:11 PM
 
deleted because I didn't make much sense
( Last edited by zigzag; Sep 1, 2003 at 10:18 PM. )
     
iBean  (op)
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Sep 1, 2003, 07:18 PM
 
Originally posted by zigzag:
You can then transfer them to a file on your hard drive, which clears your account. Nothing lost.
This is what I meant to say when I said I download the messages to the local mailbox.
     
zigzag
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Sep 1, 2003, 10:15 PM
 
Originally posted by iBean:
This is what I meant to say when I said I download the messages to the local mailbox.
I sort of got it backwards - what I should have said was that if you go into Mail's Preferences > Accounts > Advanced, you can instruct Mail to automatically keep copies of all messages for off-line viewing on your hard drive. That way, you have the automatic downloading advantage of POP while still having messages stored on the server for your other computers (at least I think that's how it works - like I said, I'm not an expert ).

But you do have to clear your IMAP server once in a while by either deleting/erasing or transferring, which you never have have to worry about with POP, so I guess that's one advantage to POP.

Hopefully someone with more expertise will chime in.
     
iDriveX
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Sep 1, 2003, 11:11 PM
 
Yeah I have kinda an IMAP setup through POP.

The way I do it, is I set it up so I have POP e-mail. Then under the advanced tab in Mail's System Prefs, I set it to download mail from the server, as soon as I move it from my inbox. That way, if I delete the mail, Junk the Mail, or file the mail, it's not available on the server. Anything, I decide to keep in my inbox I know will be available on the server. It's good for checking webmail then and also mail on other computers.

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wataru
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Sep 1, 2003, 11:18 PM
 
The only downside of IMAP is that it can be slow to manipulate your messages while connected via modem.

The only time I'd ever consider using POP is if I knew I would NEVER EVER have to access my mail from any computer other than my main one. But even then, I'd still probably go with IMAP.
     
Millennium
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Sep 2, 2003, 06:14 AM
 
POP from my main machine, IMAP elsewhere. I prefer having my e-mails stored and archived lovally.
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Sep 2, 2003, 06:28 AM
 
Provided you keep a nice sorted archive, I just download all messages I want to store on a quarterly basis, IMAP is the best solution.

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iDriveX
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Sep 2, 2003, 11:04 AM
 
IMAP is just too slow! When they are stored on the server, manipulation, even on a DSL takes a while. When it's stored locally, it's only as slow as your hard drive. I went IMAP for a while, then my internet went down for the night and I couldn't read any e-mails that I needed to for a school project. That's the last time I ever went IMAP.

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ambush
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Sep 2, 2003, 11:21 AM
 
IMAP is always the better option.
     
as2
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Sep 2, 2003, 12:41 PM
 
I'm using IMAP at the moment, but getting bitched at because I've not deleted any mail (apart from junk) since I got my account 2 years ago, and have just reached the 15MB limit.
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wataru
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Sep 2, 2003, 12:55 PM
 
Originally posted by iDriveX:
IMAP is just too slow! When they are stored on the server, manipulation, even on a DSL takes a while. When it's stored locally, it's only as slow as your hard drive. I went IMAP for a while, then my internet went down for the night and I couldn't read any e-mails that I needed to for a school project. That's the last time I ever went IMAP.
Sounds like you were using some crazy client that doesn't cache to the local disk.

As long as you have a decent client and are smart about it (i.e. you don't leave 2 years worth of mail on the server), IMAP is far superior.
     
andi*pandi
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Sep 2, 2003, 01:36 PM
 
I'm using IMAP because it's the default. I've kind of gotten used to being able to check my mail anywhere... so even though I kind of like POP, I'm going to make the "fake inbox" thing and copy all my inbox mail there except for that weeks.

This should also force me to sort thru it more and trash stuff!
     
iBean  (op)
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Sep 3, 2003, 12:25 PM
 
Thanks for the tips, I think I'll stick with IMAP, and I'll download the messages I want to keep on a regular basis.

     
   
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