Package: fetchmail
Version: 6.2.5.4-1
Severity: normal
Hi,
fetchmail will use the LAST command instead of the UIDL code by
default because said code is flaky:
The UIDL code is generally flaky and tends to lose its state on
errors and line drops (so that old messages are re-seen). If this
happens to you, switch to IMAP4.
However, the LAST command is obsolete, a good explanation on the
obsolence of the LAST command is readable at:
<http://www.remote.org/jochen/mail/info/pop3-last.html>
When the LAST command fails, fetchmail will correctly switch to UIDL,
and fetchmail won't use LAST if fetchmail is forced to use UIDL with
the "uidl" configuration keyword.
Also, a return value of zero for LAST forces fetchmail to download all
messages each time and causes dups and fetchmail does not switch to
UIDL when LAST returns 0.
So some bugs in the above behavior which I regrouped under a big
"UIDL and LAST handling" bug:
1/ LAST shouldn't be used at all (except in *very* rare cases where
UIDL are not supported and where LAST is implemented and works
correctly)
2/ when LAST is used (which should only happen in very rare cases), a
return value of 0 should suggest that fetchmail can't rely on that
value (ie. fetchmail should consider LAST failed)
3/ IMO, UIDL should be used by default
Cheers,
PS: this bug is just a reminder, and might be fixed in the latest
upstream release
--
Loïc Minier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Current Earth status: NOT DESTROYED
