[email protected] writes: > I keep getting the above message when I save my Imap folder.
I copy my old message below: `V l stale' shows the stale messages. This is one of the dark corners of IMAP handling. If everything is working correctly, the *only* time this warning should arise is when the IMAP server changes the UIDVALIDITY value. In that case, all the messages in the cache folder become "stale" and VM will get fresh copies of everything. In that case, you should answer "yes" to the question about expunge. If the message arises in any other situation, you should know that something has gone wrong and you should be very careful with what you do next. Two possibilities are: - VM has successfully recovered from whatever went wrong, and obtained fresh copies of the messages. In that case, it is fine to delete the "stale" copies and keep the good copies. - VM didn't recover from the problems correctly and the "stale" copies are all that you have. In that case, your safest course of action is to get rid of your imap-cache folder and let VM rebuild a new cache folder. Be warned! The IMAP code is not as fault-tolerant as it should be. Whenever you get vm-imap-protocol error with some other deeper error buried inside it, you should be wary. It is incredibly hard to write fault-tolerant code and I can't promise that I got it right. Getting rid of the imap-cache folder is the safest course of action. > I read in an old posting that one solution is to: > - Run: vm-prune-imap-retrieved-list > - Remove the imap-cache folder and then let VM regenerate it > > Is this still the best way to do this? Note that I distinguished between two separate cases in my previous message. (i) UIDVALIDITY change and (ii) result of previous IMAP faults. You haven't said which case you are dealing with. The first case (UIDVALIDITY change) is straightforward. You can just get rid of all the stale messages. The second case is more complicated. That is why VM leaves it to you to figure out what went wrong and do the right thing. VM has no idea what faults might have occurred to cause those stale messages. For all it knows, the stale messages might be the only copies of those messages you have, and if you delete them, you might lose them forever. So, your best course is to find out what those stale messages are and whether they are redundant copies are essential ones. Cheers, Uday
