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On 01/05/2019 17:04, Tanstaafl wrote:<br>
<blockquote
cite="mid:60076795-c5f0-f7c3-cfd8-c9912928942f@libertytrek.org"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">On Tue Apr 30 2019 22:37:10 GMT-0400 (Eastern Standard Time), Mark
Rousell <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:mark.rousell@signal100.com"><mark.rousell@signal100.com></a> wrote:
</pre>
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<pre wrap="">Yes. Thunderbird can be used as an email archive container (no actual
mail account needed) or as a client for the non-email protocols that it
supports.
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<pre wrap="">
Well, I think we can at least agree that anyone using TB in tha manner
would be an extremely rare corner case.
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<br>
No, we cannot "at least" agree. That's because they are not "corner
cases". Here is why: One must remember that Thunderbird is a thick
client; it's not just a 'simple' thin protocol client. Thunderbird
has its own functionality.<br>
<br>
First of all, if Thunderbird handles non-email functionality at all,
which of course it does, then it is only reasonable to expect that
users might expect it to be used in exactly that way. Why force
someone to set up an email account that might not exist simply as a
gateway to Thunderbird's other functions? That makes no sense.<br>
<br>
More substantively, as I note above, Thunderbird's functionality is
not just about connecting to things. Indeed, as a thick client, it
can do far more than being a simplistic IMAP-only/server
storage-only email client. In this light, it's not so surprising
that a user might want to use it as, for example, an indexed email
archive container or calendar app. Whilst I'd certainly admit that
this is probably not a common usage, it is nevertheless true to say
that, as a result of Thunderbird's inherent thick-client
functionality, it would be an over-simplification to dismiss such
uses "corner cases".<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Mark Rousell
</pre>
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