Implications

• Solutions

  • Easiest way to deal with message locking is to avoid 7th edition mailbox (mbox) format
  • Use mailbox directory instead, but can use folders

    • One message per file
    • Some typical POP3 enhancements not applicable
  • However, so long as lock mechanism is shared by LDA & IMAP server, can avoid file locking and use database instead

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For IMAP, you need message locking anyway, so the use of a mailbox directory format is natural, although I still believe that file locking with a mailbox directory requires an excessive amount of work and should instead be pulled into a proper database (more on this later).