Way to go Gmail

[Fox]

I too am missing something. I've been using Thunderbird and my Gmail account with no problems.

[Chef]

I too am missing something. I've been using Thunderbird and my Gmail account with no problems.

Using the POP download that was available.

The great thing about IMAP is it syncs back and forth. If you delete an email in thunderbird (or any other email client) the change takes place on the Gmail web interface as well. It is particularly useful for people who need to check their mail from more than one place. Example: I use an email client in my office, by Crackberry on the road and occasionally I will check email from the home computer through the web interface. With IMAP any change I make is reflected on all my devices.

If you only ever check mail on one computer or device then POP is more than adequate.

[fluter]

What Chef said:

POP gives you an all-or-nothing option when downloading your mailbox contents. You can download it all to the client and delete it from the server, or you can download it all and leave everything on the server.

Folks have been known to get in trouble when they suck down their mailbox contents from home, deleting the messages from the server---then come to the office next morning and "my mail is gone, what happened?" With IMAP I can read message #13, reply to it, save it to a folder, and delete it from the in-box; but leave the other 788 messages for later disposition.

[Fox]

Ah, thanks for the explanations. I see the advantages now. What I have always been a fan of, even with the pop gmail solution, is the ssl connection. My isp does not use ssl or even allow for passwords over 12 chars. :eyeroll: