Add "Using Traditional Unix Mail Program" section to email.md
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@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ author:
category: tutorial
---
Your shiny, new tilde.club account comes with an email account. `alpine` is a command-line email application to use it, as is `mutt`. Good old-fashioned `mail` works too, although it's a little cryptic.
Your shiny, new tilde.club account comes with an email account. `alpine` is a command-line email application to use it, as is `mutt`. [Good old-fashioned `mail` works too](#using-traditional-unix-mail-program), once configured properly; although it's a little cryptic.
`alpine` is menu driven, and the menus are self-explanatory; it's surprisingly easy to learn, and surprisingly powerful when you want to customize it.
@ -121,6 +121,75 @@ those emails would not produce notification.
where people write Sieve filter
to redirect unsolicited emails into <q>Junk</q> folder)
## Using Traditional Unix Mail Program
A traditional Unix `mail` program provided on Tilde.club
is [Heirloom Mailx](https://heirloom.sourceforge.net/mailx.html).
In its default configuration,
it works for sending emails,
but not receiving;
due to the incoming [mailbox format](#mailbox-format)
used in Tilde.club
not being the old style system-wide centralized inbox folders
used in the olden days,
which the program expects by default.
However,
for anyone who are soughting for a traditional Unix mail experience,
or is experimenting with Tilde.club using a real teleprinter;
Heirloom Mailx could be configured
to operate directly on your Tilde.club mailbox,
with some quirks,
by adding the following lines to your `~/.mailrc`
or create it with the following lines if not already existing
(substitute `USERNAME` part with your Tilde.club username):
set MAIL=/home/USERNAME/.mail
set folder=.mail
set emptybox
set newfolders=maildir
set record=+.sent-mail
Once you did so,
running `mail` would now show the list your emails
if you have any in your inbox.
(Type `q` and press <kbd>Enter</kbd> to quit)
Tips:
- Set your `PAGER` and `EDITOR` environment variables properly;
unless you really want to view your emails through `more`
and/or compose your emails through `ed`.
(Even if you are really using a teleprinter,
it is still a good idea to set these explicitly however)
- Type `?` and press <kbd>Enter</kbd> for in-program help.
Also read a manual
(`man mail` from the main system command line).
- Heirloom Mailx does not understand the Maildir++ subfolder structure;
so you will have to type the name of subdirectory
as seen in the filesystem
(including its dot prefix)
when changing folder.
For example,
use command:
folder +.sent-mail
to view the emails you have sent.
(See [mailbox format](#mailbox-format)
below for the default folders available)
- When changing to view mail folder other than inbox,
you nearly always want to prefix it with `+`;
which means the folder is a subdirectory of the main email folder.
- When changing to view the main inbox folder,
simply use `%` as folder name
without any prefix.
- Marking email as junk here
does not do a thing you would normally expect
from modern email clients
or webmails;
so don't do it.
## Mailbox Format
Tilde.club uses [Dovecot](https://www.dovecot.org/) as a local mail delivery agent