In case the dates below aren't enough of a clue, this project has stalled. These days I use mutt to read my mail, including my mailing list mail. It's not 100% what I want, but it's pretty close to what I was trying to achieve with slrn. I'll leave this page up in case it's of interest to anyone...

[Written 1997-02-12; Updated 1997-03-07, 1997-03-10; Major overhaul 1997-07-11; Updated 1997-07-14, 1997-07-15, 1997-08-24].

Using slrn to read mail

The slrn local spool backend can be used to read mail stored in MH-style mailfolders (folders are directories of numbered files, each file holds one message). I've been reading most of the mailing lists I'm subscribed to like this for quite a while now, but replying to the list is awkward - you need to use reply and then edit the To: header to the list address.

Since mailing lists are essentially news with a different transport, it would be great if slrn could be used to read mailing lists and they would appear to be much the same as newsgroups.

So I've written a patch for slrn 0.9.4.3 which achieves this. Older versions still available: 0.9.4.2. There are a few caveats at present, which I hope to fix with time:

I would be suprised if it works with anything other than Unix at the moment. If you try it, please let me know (in particular, send me any patches needed).
Apply the patch after running configure. So unpack slrn and:
cd slrn
./configure
cd src
patch < 0943mail.patch
cd ..
make
The group name is assumed to be the mailing list's submission address - spool.c is patched to prevent it converting '.' to '/' if the group name contains an '@'
You'll need something to deliver your mailing list mail into MH folders - I use procmail. Later I plan to modify slrnpull to do the job (which will also enable you to use overview files).

So for the slang workers mailing list, I would create a directory /home/olly/Mail/slang-workers@babayaga.math.fu-berlin.de and use a procmail rule like this:

:0:
* ^TOslang-workers
/home/olly/Mail/slang-workers@babayaga.math.fu-berlin.de/.

And in my .slrnrc I add these lines:

server "/home/olly/Mail" ".newsrc-mail"
set spool_root "/home/olly/Mail"

This tells slrn where to find the spool, and what .newsrc file to use for it.

Then I just run: slrn --spool --mail and away I go. The slrn follow-up command replies to the list (with the usual slrn cc:-ing options) and reply replies to the sender only.

Known bugs

Only one at the moment:

The patch fails to change the behaviour when making a new "post". Until I get a chance to upload a fixed patch, you can just change "Newsgroups:" to "To:" when editing the post and all should be well.

What about mbox mail folders?

Mbox folders store all messages in the folder in one file, separated by lines starting "From " (with a minor nasty variation thanks to Sun). They aren't greedy on inodes like MH folders are, and don't suffer from rounding up each message to the size of a file allocation unit. They're also supported by more mail readers than MH folders are.

Sometime last year I wrote a slrn backend which could read an mbox file (or a directory of mbox files). It's something of a prototype though, and has a few niggles. I haven't had a chance to sort it out.

At some point, I'll probably rewrite it for current versions of slrn. In the meantime, I'm happy to send a copy provided you're aware of its status. You'll need to do quite a lot of work to get the patch to apply to a recent version of slrn, since I patched 0.8.8.3 and a lot has changed since then.

Other desirable features

This is a list of features which would be useful for reading general mail with slrn:

Done but in need of tidying up:
- refile messages between folders
- delete messages
- file message to multiple folders using links
Almost vital:
- build "To:" and "Cc:" differently when we're reply to non-list mail, for example we want to use addresses in "To:" and "Cc:" on the message replied to
Damn useful:
- incorporating mail (from mbox, POP3, etc) with nov (use slrnpull code?)
- address book - if possible, use a standard format with existing editor (but want to be able to add to address book from slrn slang macros)
Would be good:
- thread together messages from both sent and current folder (virtual groups?)
- Status: instead of .newsrc (or maybe generate .newsrc from Status: headers)
- Support for working from mbox folders -- prototype already written (by me)
- Ability to empty trash folder on exit (slang macro on suitable hook?)
- Some form of Xref: for messages refiled to multiple folders?
Random thoughts to think about:
- Subject: isn't required by RFC 822 - I believe slrn will cope if it's missing
- RFC 822 email address format is less strict
- No Newsgroups: - folder is implicit...
- "Follow-up" isn't so meaningful in non-list mail - interpret as "reply to all"?

My thinking is that something usable can be produced fairly quickly, with the less vital parts being added later.

If you're interested in helping out and/or testing send me an e-mail.