Quote:
Originally Posted by flatbutt
OK I understood some of that. But IMAP? POP?
|
Two different protocols / methods for receiving and handling mail.
All of my accounts are set up for both.
POP on the stationary desktop that is always on and never goes anywhere, IMAP for portable devices.
A couple of years back there was a change in how some mail clients implemented IMAP which has resulted in some really annoying reliability issues for end users.
When you set up as POP you are receiving a local copy of the mail. You set it up so that it leaves a copy of the email on the server for x days, weeks, months or forever, you decide.
IMAP does not download to the device, it always resides on the server and you read it from there.
IMAP means the mail is always available to access from any device including a public computer but it also means your mailbox on the server will eventually fill up unless you actively archive it before deleting it. More mail on the server can result in sluggish performance of your mail client when listing mail to read or searching for an older piece of mail.
With POP you get a local copy so your mailbox size is only dependent on how much available space you have on your local machine. If you are running back ups the mail gets included so you always have it.
By setting one device as POP and telling it to keep mail for X days, weeks, months you are effectively managing your IMAP space. Meaning the POP client deletes anything older than what you tell it to keep.
I set all mine for 30 days. I find no need to have access to mail any older than that on my portable device.