You should be able to connect to pop server by telnet client, issue the command you are interested in and observe the response.
It used to be relatively common practice way back when ... Tomas On Tue, Oct 7, 2025, 13:17 Richard Owlett <[email protected]> wrote: > On 10/7/25 11:17 AM, Galen Seitz wrote: > > On 10/7/25 08:48, Richard Owlett wrote: > >> I access a POP server with SeaMonkey running on a Debian system. > >> Eventually I want to understand the structure SeaMonkey uses for > >> storing its mailbox files. > >> > >> This is the first time I've dived into the details of email. > >> > >> My initial underlying question is "What does a stream of bytes > >> representing an email look like as it leaves a POP server?" > >> > >> I'm looking for background that will allow me to ask intelligent > >> questions ;} > > > > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Office_Protocol> > > <https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1939.txt> > > My question poorly phrased. > Those might be termed a discussion of ~"handshake protocol", I was > looking for structure of message content. > Still poorly phrased. > > > > > A quick search suggests that the Seamonkey email client stores email in > > MBOX format. > > <https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000383.shtml> > > That comes closer to what I'm looking for. > I'd already found it and my dissatisfaction with it was part of what > prompted my post. > Thanks for trying. > > > > > > galen > >
