Eudora
Choosing IMAP or POP
|
You can handle your mail in two different ways: using IMAP or
using POP. This page briefly compares the pros and cons.
Boiled down to simplest terms:
- If you always view your e-mail on one computer, POP probably
meets your needs, and you may find it simpler to use. But please
read the other factors below for more information.
- If you want to have access to your messages from more than
one computer, IMAP is better able to provide that ability. But
please read the other factors below for more information.
|
|
Here are some other factors to consider:
IMAP (Internet Message
Access Protocol):
- All your messages are available to you from multiple locations,
and you can set up folders and mailboxes on the server, allowing you
to organize your messages. You can also filter your messages and use
colors to identify them.
Mail stored on the server will no longer be deleted after
60 days, so leaving mail on the server becomes a viable option.
- Only the message headers are retrieved automatically, so you can
review what's new very quickly, and only download the information
you want. As a side effect, attachments are not downloaded until you
open the message and save the attachments. If you delete the
message without downloading the attachment, the attachment file is
lost. (You can, of course, ask the sender to send it again.)
- People using IMAP typically store most of their e-mail on the mail
server (so it will be available to them no matter where they are when
they check their mail). You will get 300 MB of storage. (This is a
*lot* of space; most of Cornell's peer institutions provide less than
half that.) When you fill 70% of your space, you will receive an automatic
message advising that you delete messages or move them to local storage.
You will get a second, more emphatic message when you reach 90%. If
you completely fill your storage space, incoming e-mail messages will
not reach you, and the sender will be notified that their message
could not be delivered.
- You can use IMAP with Eudora
(version 5.2 or higher), with the uPortal.Cornell
E-mail channel, or with WebMail.
POP (Post Office
Protocol):
- Your messages and attachments are automatically saved to your local
hard disk. However, this means you may have to wait while your messages
and attachments (including spam and other unwanted information) download.
- You can retrieve your messages and then read them (and prepare replies)
while not connected to the network
- Once you retrieve your messages, they are not available to you from
another computer, unless you set your options to leave your messages
on the server. If you leave messages on the server, you cannot tell
at a glance which messages you have already read. You cannot organize
your messages on the server.
For a more complete (and more technical) discussion of the two protocols,
see www.imap.org/papers/imap.vs.pop.brief.html
Last modified: May 23, 2007
|
