I am quite allergic to modern email programs such as Microsoft Outlook, KMail, Evolution or Thunderbird. After digging the web for a mail program that "sucks less", I've adopted mutt. In the same time, I've learned a lot of (not so useful) stuff about the email flow from servers to servers to servers to my brave old Unix mailbox. I am now using a split set of software to manage my emails. This could be confusing at first sight, but eventually I get the so-called do-one-thing-but-do-it-right quality of Unix systems. To summarize it, my messages go through the following path:
.--. _ -( )- _ .--,( ),--. _.-( )-._ ( INTERNET ) '-._( )_.-' '__,( ),__' - ._(__)_. - ^ | | | | v .---------. .-----------. encryption | stunnel | | getmail | deliver '---------' '-----------' ^ | | | | v .---------. .----------. send | postfix | | procmail | filter '---------' '----------' ^ | | | | v .------. .---------. read/write | mutt |<============>| dovecot | store '------' '---------'
Getmail, procmail, dovecot, mutt, postfix and stunnel. That's 6 programs to do what your Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird do. But I can assure you that the former 6 programs offer a better experience compared to the latter ones.