🚀 go-pugleaf

Having followed this thread for a while, a couple of reflections:

Prior to the recent outburst of discussion, I had been corresponding
with Mark about POP and IMAP. He'd directed me to the ftp server
at uwash, where I'd snagged MailManager, EasyMail &c. 

What I didn't do was to read the README file carefully, or more
importantly, the RFC upon which MailManager is based.

When you do this, it becomes apparent that Mark's remarks come from
the context of years of work and research on mail in general
multi-media mail in particular, and considerable thought on how
this valuable service can best be propogated over the internet.

I think it would behoove us (and perhaps NeXT?) to download this
software, compile it, and read the docs. I came away very favorably
impressed with Mark's efforts on all fronts. His software is
extremely impressive in itself.

Having gone through through this process, I came to understand better Mark's
frustration about the level of discourse about mailers, especially
given the fact that there are some very important issues at stake,
issues which go well beyond the NeXT community. Having been now
alerted to those issues through Mark's efforts, I think we cannot
afford to ignore the rest of the world, and take up a "NeXT: Love it
or Leave it" position.

One may not approve of Mark's guerilla techniques for introducing
a thread; in my own case, it was a wake-up call. Sometimes you've
got to hit the mule over the head to get its attention, and we
can surely be quite mulish.

I would also like to say that Mark has been exceedingly patient in
responding to exceedingly stupid questions from a UNIX tyro. Yes,
he has a mission--but it is a good mission, and I wish him great
success. Indeed, I'd like to ponder how the NeXT community could
assist him in his efforts. But do read the docs, and reach your
own conclusions.

Sam
sphere@netcom.com