[X-Unix] CL Usenet and email

[Jon Allen Boone]

Jamie,

On Apr 14, 2005, at 05:13, Jamie Kahn Genet wrote:

> How many people, wonder actually use CL email and/or Usenet clients on 
> a
> day to day basis nowadays? Many of you guys? Hardly at all? Do the
> disadvantages of the CL interface outweigh the flexibility of CL input
> and scripting? Or the other way around?

My first exposure to email was back in 1988 at CMU.  We had a graphical 
interface on top of Unix and multi-media mail.  The recommended mail 
client was GUI-based.  This was a relatively full-featured system, 
including procmail like features.  Nonetheless, I relatively quickly 
switched to using a GnuEmacs-based program called Batmail.  Partly it 
was because I could use the same client even when not on the console of 
the machine I was running the client on [i.e. via telnet in those 
days].  Mostly it was due to the lack of functionality available in 
GUI-based MUAs.

For the next 15 years, I continued to use command-line based MUA as my 
primary interface to mail/news.  I used MH heavily for about 4 years 
[iirc], then moved to using Gnus [under emacs].  I stuck with that for 
about 9 years [I still use it to read news].  When I switched over to 
using Mac OS X as my primary OS, I began using Apple's Mail.app for 
email.  It works and is about 80% of the functionality that I'd like in 
an MUA.

I receive a high-volume of email on a regular basis.  For example, I 
used to be subscribed to the linux-kernel-mailing-list, which receives 
many hundreds [if not thousands] of messages a day.  I have three basic 
requirements:

1.  The absolute minimum requirement in an MUA is the ability to file 
email using some sort of filter [procmail is acceptable] - and then 
have the MUA tell me which mail boxes [of the many hundreds that I 
have] actually have new email in them.  Mail.app does this moderately 
well, but not as well as I would like.  Since I store email in 
hierarchical folders, I prefer for folders without new mail to be 
invisible, unless they are a component of the branch of the hierarchy 
I'm viewing at the time.

2.  The next most important requirement is that the MUA must be capable 
of displaying messages in a threaded-format.  I like to read an entire 
conversation [at least, as much of it as I've received] before 
responding and threaded readers make this much easier.

3.  I sometimes want to use less to read my email [because I'm in a 
hurry].  I prefer that messages be stored in individual files and a 
folder index be present to make searching for the "right" email easier.

   Gnus [under emacs] fits the bill 100%.  MH [completely command-line, 
unless you use xmh] also scores 100%.  So why do I use Mail.app?  The 
same reason I like using Mac OS X.  It looks better most of the time 
and it is easier to use out of the box.  I like being able to click on 
a URL and have it auto-launch a browser.  I like being able to view 
HTML/rich text email without using a browser.

> How realistic is it to expect to run such important parts of one's life
> by CL?

   I'm still amazed that some people can manage [for some definition of 
manage] to run such an important part of their life with such 
inadequate GUI-based tools.

> Basically I'm wondering if I'm a bit silly to think of CL alternatives.

   On the contrary, command-line based tools are much more flexible, 
even if they are not as nice to look at.  :-)  But then, email has been 
my primary means of communication with other people since 1988 - if I 
can't get to my email, then people can't get to me!  [Yes, I have a 
cell phone, but my email archive is my "long-term memory", so I won't 
authoritatively answer questions or give advice without access to it.]

--jon