How can I add a Spam Folder directly under my email address to sync with the AOL Spam Folder?
I began using TB when AOL arbitrarily removed the sort function some time ago. However, I never could install a Spam Folder that would sync with the Spam Folder in AOL. I've tried adding folders, not knowing exactly which files to copy, i.e., .msf, .sbd, ... with no luck. If I forget to check AOL, I often lose emails that were in the AOL Spam Folder which were not really spam.
Chosen solution
I think, given the fiddling you have apparently done in the file system that I should ask you to post an image of your AOL account as it appears in the folder pane of Thunderbird. I will write some instructions below that I hope will work, but they do assume some defaults they you might already have changed.
It is very rare that doing anything with files and folders in the file system will do anything but corrupt an IMAP mail install, hence my request. That you expect synchronicity I assume you have configured the account as IMAP
AOL, now with the heavy hand of Yahoo guiding their every action, will not have a SPAM folder, they will have a bulk mail folder. So the first thing you need to get used to is the folders name. Why bulk mail? I have no idea. You would have to ask Yahoo and they do not appear to wish to communicate with their users. But that is the name they chose for the folder. Interestingly, they do not expose that folder name in their own web interface, but IMAP users have to put up with it.
Right click your account in the folder pane and select subscribe from the menu. Ensure the "bulk mail" folder is selected as subscribed.
Right click the account again and select settings. In the entry for "Junk" ensure the " bulk mail" folder is set as the folder to use for :Junk". Once this is done the folder will appear in the user interface with the red flame icon of a registered junk folder.
Note that there are changes in Thunderbird 68 to cope with the Yahoo "bulk mail" folder and the way they manage their spam filtering. Without an upgrade to 68 you will not be able to mark mail as not junk if Yahoo thinks it is junk.
Further note that Thunderbird does not synchronize mail in IMAP junk folders unless you right click the folder, select properties and then the synchronization tab and mark the folder for offline use. The same goes for the deleted folder. ( I use the folder names loosely, not all IMAP server use the same names for everything)
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Chosen Solution
I think, given the fiddling you have apparently done in the file system that I should ask you to post an image of your AOL account as it appears in the folder pane of Thunderbird. I will write some instructions below that I hope will work, but they do assume some defaults they you might already have changed.
It is very rare that doing anything with files and folders in the file system will do anything but corrupt an IMAP mail install, hence my request. That you expect synchronicity I assume you have configured the account as IMAP
AOL, now with the heavy hand of Yahoo guiding their every action, will not have a SPAM folder, they will have a bulk mail folder. So the first thing you need to get used to is the folders name. Why bulk mail? I have no idea. You would have to ask Yahoo and they do not appear to wish to communicate with their users. But that is the name they chose for the folder. Interestingly, they do not expose that folder name in their own web interface, but IMAP users have to put up with it.
Right click your account in the folder pane and select subscribe from the menu. Ensure the "bulk mail" folder is selected as subscribed.
Right click the account again and select settings. In the entry for "Junk" ensure the " bulk mail" folder is set as the folder to use for :Junk". Once this is done the folder will appear in the user interface with the red flame icon of a registered junk folder.
Note that there are changes in Thunderbird 68 to cope with the Yahoo "bulk mail" folder and the way they manage their spam filtering. Without an upgrade to 68 you will not be able to mark mail as not junk if Yahoo thinks it is junk.
Further note that Thunderbird does not synchronize mail in IMAP junk folders unless you right click the folder, select properties and then the synchronization tab and mark the folder for offline use. The same goes for the deleted folder. ( I use the folder names loosely, not all IMAP server use the same names for everything)
Thanks Matt, I was able to add the Bulk Mail folder and check the subscribe box. There was a slight variation to the "Junk" folder Destination and Retention settings, i.e., I selected "Other: Bulk Mail on donmar1234 ..." I checked synchronize for the new folder so I will check it once in a while to compare with AOL to see if it's working. Your explanation was very clear.
