POP Mail Server Change on VMScluster

The configuration of the POP mail servers on the VMScluster (OREGON, DONALD, and DAISY) was changed in mid-September to more closely parallel the behavior of the POP servers on our UNIX systems (GLADSTONE, DARKWING, and ALPHA). This change also enables the use of certain features in newer versions of Eudora that have been frequently requested.

The change only affects users who have enabled the "Leave mail on server" option in their mail client. We recommend this option be used only by those who need to access their email from multiple platforms (e.g., Eudora at work and VMS MAIL via modem from home.) Those who use only a single POP client, like Eudora, on a single machine should definitely not enable this option, since it ordinarily results in a substantial waste of disk space on the VMScluster.

Here's a summary of the effects of this change:

(1) Mail is not moved from the NEWMAIL folder to MAIL after it has been read.

(2) UIDL indexing has been enabled so the client can keep track of which mail has been read.

Again, those who have not selected the "Leave mail on server" option will notice no difference. Users who have enabled this option must be running Eudora version 1.5.4, or newer, to take advantage of UIDL indexing. Older Eudora versions will not work properly, and will leave the same mail on the server repeatedly. If you are running an earlier version of Eudora and need to have mail left on the server, we recommend that you upgrade your version of Eudora to 1.5.4, or newer.

One other effect of this change: those who have Eudora 3.0, or newer, installed can now enable the "Delete from server after n days" option, an action we strongly recommend if you need to leave mail on the server, since it periodically cleans up disk space on the VMScluster.