MBOX-Line: From mrc+uw at Panda.COM  Tue Dec 29 14:43:21 2009
To: imap-protocol@u.washington.edu
From: Mark Crispin <mrc+uw@Panda.COM>
Date: Fri Jun  8 12:34:43 2018
Subject: [Imap-protocol] Childless noselect mailboxes
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Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.00.0912291437260.18442@hsinghsing.panda.com>

On Tue, 29 Dec 2009, Timo Sirainen wrote:
> The most annoying thing that a client can do is pop up a message saying
> "Mailbox isn't selectable." This is what most clients seem to do.

I agree.  That means that the client listed the mailbox, yet ignored the 
fact that it was \NoSelect.  That's just plain broken client behavior.

> What I think they should do is (lets assume a GUI client similar to
> TB/Outlook/etc):
>
> - In the window where it would typically show list of messages or
> message body, it would show a text something like "This mailbox doesn't
> exist, it only contains children."

Or, it should have separate graphical elements to open as a directory, 
open as a mailbox, or both.  It was much easier when dual-use mailboxes 
weren't the norm, since then the open operation would open in the correct 
mode depending upon the type of object.

Consider how any sort of filesystem browser works.  If you click an 
object, you open that object depending upon what sort of object it is.

Now that dual-use mailboxes are the norm, you need to be a bit more 
creative in the interface.  If everything is icons, you're sort of stuck. 
Either you have two open methods, or you have the object twice, once for 
each of its roles.

With a hierarchy browser, you have a widget to open the children, and 
double click to open the messages.  If you double click a directory, it 
either does nothing or acts as if you clicked the widget.

-- Mark --

http://panda.com/mrc
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.

