I read through the patch documentation at the link provided and it appears
that the dual-use implementation hides the details from the client. If that
is the case then all existing clients that use UW-IMAP should work.

Am I missing something?

> From: Mark Crispin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Wed, 01 May 2002 18:13:16 -0700 (PDT)
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Dual use patch page
> 
> On Thu, 02 May 2002 03:03:23 +0200, Friedrich Lobenstock wrote:
>> So please be so kind and elaborate a bit why dual-use mailboxes
>> make life harder for imap complient clients.
> 
> The IMAP protocol has a mechanism to determine whether a mailbox is dual-use
> or not.
> 
> Broken clients do not use this mechanism and instead assume that all mailboxes
> are dual-use.  They break in wierd ways when a mailbox is not dual use.  Some
> even require the user to set a configuration option to say "this server does
> not have dual-use mailboxes" which half-works to undo the brokenness.
> 
> Good clients understand when a mailbox is dual-use and when it is not.
> However, when a mailbox is dual-use, it becomes more complicated for the user.
> The user can no longer select a name and have it open a list of subordinate
> names (directory) or open a message browser (mailbox).  Instead, the user now
> has to choose between commands to either open the name as a directory or open
> it as mailbox.
> 
> The result is extra complexity and confusion for the user.  We see this
> frequently in Pine when the user switches servers to a server.  Suddenly, the
> user is confronted with usage complexity that he never experienced before
> 
> The design of the UW server is to maintain compatibility with UNIX conventions
> and traditions.  Above all, the traditional UNIX format support is focused on
> compatibility with the past 30 years of UNIX mail history.  mbx, although not
> a legacy format, by design shares many of the same attributes including
> compatible naming with traditional UNIX format.
> 
> There are other servers which do not have the goal of compatibility with UNIX
> conventions and traditions.  If incompatibility is a closer match to your
> needs, then you should consider those servers.
> 

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