POP3 - Deleting messages from the server
I have a POP3 account for my AT&T (Yahoo) server. I have Leave Messages On Server Until I Delete Them checked. I also changed the configuration to delete messages from the server when they are moved to another folder.
Moving or deleting the messages from the Inbox in TB is working (it deletes the messages from the server), however last night I discovered that when I send a message from TB, it makes a copy in the Sent folder on the server.
Deleting the messages from the Sent folder on TB leaves it on the Sent folder on the server. Also, deleting messages in TB puts them in the Trash folder on the server. When I delete messages from the Trash folder on TB, they still remain in the Trash folder on the server. I haven't tried emptying the TB Trash folder because I keep the last two months of messages there.
That all sounds confusing, but the bottom line is after I delete messages from the Sent and Trash folders in TB they are still in the Sent and Trash folder on the server. I had to go into the server last night to delete Sent and Trash messages going back to 2018. It wasn't always this way, I've been using TB since the 90's.
Chosen solution
Hopefully the following my help you to understand what is going on and why.
re :I have a POP3 account POP accounts can only access the server Inbox and download emails from the server Inbox into the pop account Inbox. There is no synchronising of any folders when using a POP account. This is not just a Thunderbird quirk, it is how all pop accounts work no matter what email client you use. If you have settings to 'Leave message on server' then a copy is left on server otherwise it will delete off server upon download. If you also have settings 'Until I delete them', then when you delete in Thunderbird, it will delete from server Inbox, but there are cases when you may need to compact the Inbox folder to delete moved emails.
This is all working as expected.
re: last night I discovered that when I send a message from TB, it makes a copy in the Sent folder on the server.
When you send a message via the smtp server, AT&T which is using a Yahoo server are aware of it, so now they automatically put a copy in the server Sent folder. It is not Thunderbird doing this. Yahoo now do this because it means if someone did then use the webmail account to view emails, they would at least now see anything they had sent.
re :Deleting the messages from the Sent folder on TB leaves it on the Sent folder on the server. Correct. This is because you have a POP account and POP accounts have no access to anything other than the server Inbox. There is no synchronisation between the server folders and POP account folders.
re:Also, deleting messages in TB puts them in the Trash folder on the server. When you delete an email, it gets deleted from the server Inbox as per your settings. When the server deleted the email from the server Inbox, the server will automatically put it in the server Trash folder.
re: When I delete messages from the Trash folder on TB, they still remain in the Trash folder on the server. Same reason as why the server 'Sent' folder does not delete emails you deleted in the POP account 'Sent' folder. You have a POP account and POP accounts have no access to anything other than the server Inbox.
re:but the bottom line is after I delete messages from the Sent and Trash folders in TB they are still in the Sent and Trash folder on the server. That is correct. There is nothing wrong with that except it may be frustrating.
However, the Yahoo server 'Trash' folder should get auto emptied by the server every 7 days.
Alternative:
Copy all POP account emails into the 'Local Folders' mail account - then remove the POP account.
Create a new existing mail account for that email address and set it up as IMAP.
IMAP account folders synchronise with all subscribed server folders.
The emails are stored on the server and the imap account folders display whatever is held on the server.
You can download full copies or headers only and this can be set up on a per folder basis. Emails that are fully downloaded mean you can read them even in 'Offline' mode. If they are fully downloaded it also means you can create a backup copy, so if anything goes wrong, you can recover emails and put them back on server. Do not consider an imap account as a separate copy of emails because all folders synchronise with server. Imap account folders are not totally independent of server.
If you move or delete anything in an IMAP account, it will be also done on the server.
Please note, as server will auto empty Trash and Spam folders, this will also occur in the Imap account in TB. As you have got used to storing emails in Trash for a couple of months before emptying Trash, you will need to change that practise.
All Replies (2)
Chosen Solution
Hopefully the following my help you to understand what is going on and why.
re :I have a POP3 account POP accounts can only access the server Inbox and download emails from the server Inbox into the pop account Inbox. There is no synchronising of any folders when using a POP account. This is not just a Thunderbird quirk, it is how all pop accounts work no matter what email client you use. If you have settings to 'Leave message on server' then a copy is left on server otherwise it will delete off server upon download. If you also have settings 'Until I delete them', then when you delete in Thunderbird, it will delete from server Inbox, but there are cases when you may need to compact the Inbox folder to delete moved emails.
This is all working as expected.
re: last night I discovered that when I send a message from TB, it makes a copy in the Sent folder on the server.
When you send a message via the smtp server, AT&T which is using a Yahoo server are aware of it, so now they automatically put a copy in the server Sent folder. It is not Thunderbird doing this. Yahoo now do this because it means if someone did then use the webmail account to view emails, they would at least now see anything they had sent.
re :Deleting the messages from the Sent folder on TB leaves it on the Sent folder on the server. Correct. This is because you have a POP account and POP accounts have no access to anything other than the server Inbox. There is no synchronisation between the server folders and POP account folders.
re:Also, deleting messages in TB puts them in the Trash folder on the server. When you delete an email, it gets deleted from the server Inbox as per your settings. When the server deleted the email from the server Inbox, the server will automatically put it in the server Trash folder.
re: When I delete messages from the Trash folder on TB, they still remain in the Trash folder on the server. Same reason as why the server 'Sent' folder does not delete emails you deleted in the POP account 'Sent' folder. You have a POP account and POP accounts have no access to anything other than the server Inbox.
re:but the bottom line is after I delete messages from the Sent and Trash folders in TB they are still in the Sent and Trash folder on the server. That is correct. There is nothing wrong with that except it may be frustrating.
However, the Yahoo server 'Trash' folder should get auto emptied by the server every 7 days.
Alternative:
Copy all POP account emails into the 'Local Folders' mail account - then remove the POP account.
Create a new existing mail account for that email address and set it up as IMAP.
IMAP account folders synchronise with all subscribed server folders.
The emails are stored on the server and the imap account folders display whatever is held on the server.
You can download full copies or headers only and this can be set up on a per folder basis. Emails that are fully downloaded mean you can read them even in 'Offline' mode. If they are fully downloaded it also means you can create a backup copy, so if anything goes wrong, you can recover emails and put them back on server. Do not consider an imap account as a separate copy of emails because all folders synchronise with server. Imap account folders are not totally independent of server.
If you move or delete anything in an IMAP account, it will be also done on the server.
Please note, as server will auto empty Trash and Spam folders, this will also occur in the Imap account in TB. As you have got used to storing emails in Trash for a couple of months before emptying Trash, you will need to change that practise.
Modified by Toad-Hall
Thank you for taking the time to write that complete explanation.
Regarding Yahoo emptying the trash file every 7 days, that does not appear to be working. As of now, the Trash folder goes back to Jan 1. (I believe I deleted everything older than that myself the other night). ...On second thought, maybe those are messages recently deleted. I'll have to keep an eye on it to be sure.
I will consider your alternative approach of using the local folders.
In the meantime, I've decided to leave (downloaded) messages on the server for 62 days for a 2 month backup. That is in addition to my Carbonite backup of the entire profile.
I will also look in on the folders on the server occasionally to see what should be removed. I wonder if there are other POP account users who are not aware of the server Sent folder accumulating messages forever and run the risk of hitting the server space limitation.