| >| Pine is just an email client, correct? If so, the files are the same for| >| Pine or any other email client - if you have openwebmail installed, it is| > | >That statement isnt completely correct. There's several standard unix | >mailbox formats, not just one. | | There can be specific files *about* your email, but the file itself - would | there really be any difference? Email is, in every email system I haveThere certainly is. You've got a whole bunch of unix mailbox format standards - probably the three most common being mbox (all contents of mailbox stored on one large file), Mailbox (one folder, each message in its own file), and MBX (mbox, but indexed). The most common by far is mbox, although I prefer Mailbox (I find it to be a hell of a lot faster). Most MTA's will store information in mbox format, although there are ones out there that do other formats (for example, courier will do Mailbox, and a few others off memory).
Sounds like we have some terminology twisting - and I think what I was asking is what you're saying. The files can be stored in different ways, the format of *email itself* is flat and probably not different from system to system, ie: it needs to be parsed. The idea of storing messages in separate files/folders to me makes it more efficient, as you are not storing one big file; and that will obviously effect the way a client can/can't get mail. The format within each of those setups, of the mail itself, I would guess is standard. But in answering my question, if mail is not kept in one file, then that is the answer - it is not always kept in one flat file so *any* client can retrieve it.
off topic: And yes, wireless is way cool - we've been running clients on Windows CE handhelds with wireless interfaces for a number of years now. And it is a very tricky thing to have a wireless user running our stuff over the net and being able to request a printout that needs to go to a printer on the LAN, or in another city.
Thanks for the clarification on the storage methods, regards, Jale