Mail Client Tutorials
- What is a mail client?
- Why would I use a mail client?
- Can I use both web mail and a mail client?
- What is the difference between IMAP and POP?
What is a mail client?
These days, most people are more familiar with web mail, where you check your mail using a web browser such as Mozilla or Internet Explorer. A mail client, on the other hand, is a specialized program designed specifically for checking and composing email. There are several free and/or Free Software mail clients available for most platforms.| Platform | Recommended Mail Clients | Others |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Thunderbird¹, Evolution¹, kmail¹, balsa¹, mutt¹, pine | |
| Mac OS 9 | Outlook Express | |
| Mac OS X | Apple Mail², Thunderbird¹ | Netscape Mail |
| Windows | Thunderbird¹, Pegasus Mail² | Outlook Express², Outlook³, Eudora² |
2 = proprietary software.
3 = proprietary software which is not available free of charge.
Riseup.net recommends Thunderbird for Linux and Windows users, and Apple Mail for Mac OS X users. If you don't see a tutorial for your client, use the generic instructions.
Why would I use a mail client?
There are many advantages to using a mail client rather than using web mail:- When using a mail client, you do not have to always be connected to the internet. You can connect, download all your email, disconnect, and read the emails when you want. This is very convenient if you use a modem at home and have one phone line. Also, you can compose email anytime, save it, and send it later when you are connected to the internet.
- Mail clients provide more features than web mail, such as integrated
spell checking which identifies misspelled words as you type, more powerful
address books, mail filters, and spam filters.
- Mail clients are generally much faster. With web mail, every time you click a link or button, you have to wait for the web server to generate the next web page and send the page over the internet. Mail clients, on the other hand, are applications on your computer so the interface responds quickly to your commands.
- Some mail clients allow you to check email and send email from multiple
accounts all in one place.
- To use a mail client, you must install software on your computer and configure it specially for your account (or accounts). If you are using a computer at a cafe or library, you will not be able to use a mail client.
- A mail client stores mail on your machine. If you are concerned about keeping your communication private, perhaps you do not want to keep copies of all your mail laying around where anyone can read them.
- Mail clients are often more difficult to learn how to use.
Can I use both web mail and a mail client?
Yes, you can switch back and forth easily. Often, people will use a mail client when at home or at work, and use the web-based email when traveling. If you do use both options, you should be familiar with the different between IMAP and POP.What is the difference between IMAP and POP?
POP and IMAP are different ways an email client can access your mailbox at riseup.net. POP (Post Office Protocol) is the most common, and has been around longer. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is newer and has more features but is often slower for people on dial-up connections. Reasons to use POP:- POP downloads all your mail locally and removes it from the server (depending on your mail client's settings, messages are removed either when you download them, when you delete them locally, or after a certain amount of time).
- POP is usually much faster when using a slow or dial-up internet connection.
- More email clients support POP.
- POP is generally less confusing and easier to use than IMAP.
- If you configure POP to download your messages and remove them from the server, then you do not have to worry about exceeding your mail storage quota.
- IMAP leaves all messages on the server. Another way to think of this is that an IMAP mail client provides a view of the existing data stored on the server.
- Because the messages stay on the server, if are able to you check your mail from many different places (like a client at home, a client at work, a web browser at a cafe) you will see all the same email. POP can sort of do this: you can configure your client to leave messages on the server until the local copy is deleted. This method is much more limited than IMAP's approach, however.
- IMAP clients allow you to create folders which live on the mail server. POP does not support server-based folders, although you can create local folders to store mail on your home machine.
- IMAP clients typically display a separate folder tree for each IMAP account you configure. This helps you keep the mail separate if you have multiple mail accounts. With POP, everything is just pooled together in one inbox.
- If you use IMAP, then you can have server side folders for Spam and Mistakes. If you have a Spam folder, then messages identified as spam are delivered directly to that folder. If you have a Mistakes folder, then you can help train the spam filter. For more information, see our spam page.