In the Linux/Unix world a relatively new mail (and apparently news too)
reader is getting quite an international following. It is called
Mutt and is only ported, at this point to some kind of Unix. It is free
and you can get it, read about it at:
For now, its general features include:
* color support
* message threading
* MIME support (including RFC2047 support for encoded headers)
* PGP/MIME (RFC2015)
* various features to support mailing lists, including list-reply
* active development community
* POP3 support
* IMAP support
* full control of message headers when composing
* support for multiple mailbox formats (mbox, MMDF, MH, maildir)
* highly customizable, including keybindings and macros
* change configuration automatically based on recipients, current
folder, etc.
* searches using regular expressions, including an internal pattern
matching language
* Delivery Status Notification (DSN) support
* postpone message composition indefinetly for later recall
* easily include attachments when composing, even from the command
line
* ability to specify alternate addresses for recognition of mail
forwarded from other accounts, with ability to set the From:
headers on replies/etc. accordingly
* multiple message tagging
* reply to or forward multiple messages at once
* .mailrc style configuration files
* easy to install (uses GNU autoconf)
* complies against either curses/ncurses or S-lang
* small and efficient
* It's free! (no cost and GPL'ed)
[17]Screenshots demonstrating some of Mutt's capabilities are
available.
Though written from scratch, Mutt's initial interface was based
largely on the [18]ELM mail client. To a large extent, Mutt is still
very ELM-like in presentation of information in menus (and in fact,
ELM users will find it quite painless to switch as the default key
bindings are identical). As development progressed, features found in
other popular clients such as PINE and MUSH have been added, the
result being a hybrid, or "mutt." At present, it most closely
resembles the [19]SLRN news client. Mutt was originally written by
[20]Michael Elkins but is now developed and maintained by the members
of the Mutt development [21]mailing list.