Quota problems

[Rob Siemborski]

On Wed, 4 Sep 2002, Mike Brodbelt wrote:

> They're all using Netscape mail as the mail client, and all is (mostly)
> OK. However, I have some users who persistently go over quota, and Cyrus
> sends over quota alerts. The net effect of this is that they get over
> quota alerts that effectively prevent them from actually deleting
> messages, especially as the mail client tries to move them to the Trash
> folder, so every delete attempt fails.
>
> Is there any way around this? A method of throttling the number of
> over-quota alerts, or of allowing moves between mailboxes even when the
> mailbox is over quota would help.

IMAP doesn't have a MOVE command, there is only the COPY command, so
the only way (without the client cacheing the message) to move messages
between mailboxes is to COPY, flag the message as deleted, and EXPUNGE the
source mailbox.  If there is no quota left, the COPY will obviously fail,
since there isn't any room in the mailbox.

The client basically has two options, to download the message (and all
associated metadata), delete it from the source, and then APPEND it to the
destination mailbox.

There's occasionally a debate on various IMAP lists about mail clients
that try to implement a Trash mailbox with an actual IMAP mailbox.  (as
opposed to an aggregation of messages that are flagged as deleted across a
set of mailboxes).  It's really not a model that fits with IMAP's
delete/expunge system terribly well (and as you can see, it's even worse
when you have quotas).

IMHO, if the client is going to try to impose this trash-mailbox model on
IMAP, its responsibile for dealing with this situation.  Of course, if it
is imposing this model on an IMAP server, than any other clients which do
things the IMAP way (tm), will likely result in a confusing user
experience ("why do I have this trash mailbox that doesn't get used by all
my clients?").

Personally, I hate it when mail clients decide that their way is the One
True Way, and then muck with my subscriptions (subscribing me to random
folders or making it impossible for me to access non-subscribed folders)
or folders (creating or deleteing folder that I don't want).  But that's
just me.

-Rob

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Rob Siemborski * Andrew Systems Group * Cyert Hall 207 * 412-268-7456
Research Systems Programmer * /usr/contributed Gatekeeper