[Users] The Windows port.

[Mark Filipak]

On 2013/4/6 2:35 AM, Paul wrote:
> On Sat, 06 Apr 2013 01:56:04 -0400
> Mark Filipak <markfilipak.linux at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 2013/4/6 1:24 AM, Paul wrote:
>>> Yes, that is correct behaviour. Creating a new POP account does
>>> not create a new mailbox ("a new MH"), as it doesn't need to.
>>> Several pop accounts can share a single mailbox. If you want your
>>> new account to have its own mailbox then create the mailbox
>>> (using /file/add mailbox/mh...) and configure the account to use
>>> it.
>>
>> Yes! It does work. Too bad the users manual doesn't have this.
>
> It is hoped that the manual allows the user to get up and running
> quickly by talking about the basics without the reader getting bogged
> down with too much information.

You see, that's what's wrong with so much of what I see in Linux. The documentation just talks around things without really saying anything. What people want is step-by-step: do this, then do this, then do this, etc. People learn that way. You can try to pound concepts and architecture into their heads all day and it doesn't do any good.

> It would probably be 10 times the
> size if it attempted to cover everything, and a lot less readable, I
> suspect.

Wrong. It would be 1/10th the size.

> There's an FAQ,  http://www.claws-mail.org/faq/, which is a wiki and
> intended to hold more specific detail about various aspects. Everyone
> is welcome to extend what is written there.

There's another thing that's wrong. No one wants to discount anyone else's writings, so instead of streamlining documentation, it gets longer, and longer, and longer. Terse help is what is needed, not long wikis.

>> Well, given the "Add mailbox..." behavior (above) that I didn't
>> know about, this does make some sense, though I still think there's
>> no such thing as an 'account'. There's just mail sources and mail
>> boxes and Claws maps one to the other.
>
> Yes, a mailbox holds just mail folders and mail files, but an
> acccount is a lot more than just mail sources.

A mail connection is a many-to-one database for incoming messages and a one-to-one database for outgoing messages. For incoming messages, the (many) inputs are mail sources: POP & IMAP server addresses, usernames, and passwords (or credentials), and the (one) output is the location of the account's mail box folder. For outgoing messages, the (one) input is the message created by the user, and the (one) output is the SMTP server address, username, and password (or credential). In addition, a copy of the outgoing message is saved in the connection's sent mail box. That's the architecture. Simple. The way to populate the database is the connection creation methods. They would take about three or four sentences each. That's it. The mail application also includes a message editor used to create message text. What more is there? The 'Account' metaphor doesn't illuminate anything.

>>> The dialogue says 'enter the name of the new folder', but you're
>>> putting a filesystem path.
>>
>> I was told in this mailing list that I could put an absolute path
>> there. I guess that was bogus.
>
> Full paths, it was said, can be used in the 'Add mailbox'
> dialogue, /File/Add mailbox/MH...

Well, if you recall, I thought I was in the add mailbox dialog. In most programs, configuration is handled in a 'setup' or 'configuration' menu, not the 'file' menu. More thought should be given to the menu. It's a source of confusion.

>> I'll help with documentation
>
> Patches welcome, of course. Although perhaps the FAQ will be more
> suitable.

Sorry. It's real documentation or nothing with me. I'm not going to waste my time and contribute to the amount of conflicting or vague documentation that is already way too extensive.
-- 
VMware Player 5.0.2
Host: WinXP3, 32-bit
Guest: Linux Mint 14, 64-bit + Xfce 4.10