Re: Fetchpop

Re: Fetchpop

[Heimo Claasen]

Among the restricted set of commands of POP3 servers some are even only
"optional", according to the RFC ("standards"); the LAST command is such
- most probably, the new ISP did not implement it.(*) So if Fetchpop does
send this command it gets an "Error" back. (Though it behaves not well
if it freaks out on that instead of doing all the rest.) I don't know
the prog but supposedly there is some sort of configuration/preferences
setting which would allow to suppress that command (or functionality)
to be used. At least, there should be, seen the "optional" character of
it.

BTW, using that "last" command is highly unreliable if you base decisions
to delete all "(up to) last (read)" mail items on it - the order of them
at the POP3 server is stable only while you are actively locked-in to it;
in-between fetchmail sessions, the server may shuffle everything around -
and only the number of the "last" item read the last time remained the
same. This from own bad experience.

// Heimo Claasen // <hammer at revobild dot net> // Brussels 2003-07-19
The WebPlace of ReRead - and much to read  ==>  http://www.revobild.net

(*) You can test the command set in force by TELNETting to the pop3
server and sending the "help" command.  The server lists its effective
commands then.

REM - while the usefulness of "last" is doubtful, the equally "optional"
"top n m" command (n=order number of stored item, m=number of lines from
mail body, with m=>1) could be highly useful to kill spam at the
server, and before paying the download fee/time - regrettably, even
less ISPs have implemented that one. Argh.

Thus, it's again to look at the "small print" before chosing an ISP.
-hc
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs

Re: Fetchpop

[Peter]

Thanks Heimo,

that was interesting. So FetchPop is to blame for conking-out on the LAST 
command. I can't see a configuration setting for it and I do not know if the 
program is still maintained. The given website is not reachable.

The mail fetching programs such as poppy, fetchmail or getmail do not have 
this problem.

Regards

-- 
Peter

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs

Re: Fetchpop

[Peter]

Thanks Hal,

It was you who at a time suggested to use fetchpop when I had all the problems 
with fetchmail.

Will try getmail now.

Regards


-- 
Peter

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs

Re: Fetchpop

[Heimo Claasen]

Hmm, difficult to imagine that Fetchpop would not have any means to
set some parameters/arguments. Maybe there are command line switches ?

(At least it has to be given the POP3 server name, the user-ID and
password - where are these stored an how are they read by the prog ?
Some mail fetch progs have an input mask for that where they have
buttons or fields to define "get new mails / delete old" or the like,
which would be based precisely on use of the "last" command. Setting
this type of definition to "get all / delete all" would rather
certainly avoid the use, and possible error-hangup, with this POP3
command.)

If the program source is available (as it should, meant to be run under
Linux), it could even be not too problematic to cut out the subroutine(?)
executing the "last" command and to recompile the thing ?

Basically, fetchmail progs have just two tasks, (1) doing the log-in to
the POP server, and (2) using any of the few server commands, and then
listen and display and/or store what's coming back from the server.

 ------------mandatory POP3 server commands
 list
 dele #
 retr #
 quit
 -----------optional POP3 server commands
 last
 top # Z
 -----------(#=msg.no., Z=no.of lines)

(There are some more, e.g. for login/authentication but that's not
relevant here.) Those commands listed have been there almost all from
earliest email times, and with this divison of "optional" ones. Any
fetchmail prog must therefore provide for a possibility to adapt the
use of these latter, as they depend on the ISP's implementation.

// Heimo Claasen // <hammer at revobild dot net> // Brussels 2003-07-20
The WebPlace of ReRead - and much to read  ==>  http://www.revobild.net

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs

Re: Fetchpop

[Hal MacArgle]

On 07-19, Peter wrote:
> I have been using Fetchpop to retrieve my mail for several years. Now that I 
> changed my ISP I can't get my mail any longer using fetchpop.
> 
> The error message I get is:
> 
> ]$ fetchpop -pr
> fetchpop 1.9pl1 release, by Seung-Hong Oh.
> using procmail for mail  delivery.
> [-Error-] Getting status of LAST read mail. Disconnecting from the pop server.
> 
> Does anybody know how to correct this?
> 

Greetings: I too used FetchPop a very long time and was extremely
happy with it until a similar thing happened when I changed ISP's..

I, and the ISP, couldn't solve the problem so I tried fetchmail,
which worked OK but I didn't like it, and getmail, which solved all
the problems and is our only mailer now.. Getmail requires python
installed and has a _very_ active list server group, including the
author..

Sorry I can't offer a fix as fetchpop was really great, IMHO...

    Hal - in Terra Alta, WV - Slackware GNU/Linux 8.0   (2.4.18)
                Proprietary  Formats  Unacceptable
.
-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs

Fetchpop

[Peter]

Hi,

I have been using Fetchpop to retrieve my mail for several years. Now that I 
changed my ISP I can't get my mail any longer using fetchpop.

The error message I get is:

]$ fetchpop -pr
fetchpop 1.9pl1 release, by Seung-Hong Oh.
using procmail for mail  delivery.
[-Error-] Getting status of LAST read mail. Disconnecting from the pop server.

Does anybody know how to correct this?

Thanks & regards
-- 
Peter

-
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-newbie" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.linux-learn.org/faqs