Does IMAP cause huge amounts of email to always be on the server?

Question

Does IMAP cause huge amounts of email to always be on the server?

I'm thinking of reconfiguring my email accounts from POP to IMAP. If I drag and drop an email from my IMAP mailbox, into a folder in the "ON MY MAC" section, will that successfully remove it from the server? I hope this is how it works, as I'm concerned about keeping thousands of emails constantly on the server.

Thanks for your help!

Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Nov 7, 2009 5:48 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Nov 7, 2009 7:13 PM in response to polishedstaple

You can "move" a message from server folder to a local folder which deletes the file from the server. If you "copy" a message then you have two copies - one on the server and one local.

If you don't wish to keep your messages on the server, then there's really no point to having an IMAP account.

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Answer 2

Nov 7, 2009 8:21 PM in response to Kappy

Kappy wrote:

If you don't wish to keep your messages on the server, then there's really no point to having an IMAP account.

But don't most ISP servers have caps on the amount of mail the subscriber can store? Before long the subscriber's "space" on the server is full and the person cannot receive more messages.
How do we work around THAT reality with IMAP?

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,007 points

Nov 7, 2009 8:40 PM in response to Barbara Passman3

Yes, ISPs place limits on disk space. You can usually pay more for your account and increase the amount of space or you can delete unwanted messages to make more space available or you can transfer older messages to a local archive and delete them from the server to make room. In other words you can manage your available server space. That's how you "work around THAT reality." It's also the main reason very few if any email ISPs provide free IMAP accounts - disk storage space doesn't come cheap.

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