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Re: /var/mail/$username" is not a mailbox

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On Wednesday, October  8 at 01:37 PM, quoth Indi:
> I have been using mutt without trouble on OS X for several weeks 
> until today, when suddenly I got "/var/mail/$username is not a 
> mailbox". What on earth happened?

Sounds like your mailspool got corrupted (or transformed into an mbox 
format that mutt doesn't understand). There are several different mbox 
formats, all of which are mutually incompatible. Mutt understands 
three of them. If you somehow got a new program delivering mail to 
your mailspool that is writing a new and probably incompatible mbox 
format, that could make mutt unable to understand your mailspool file. 
For details on some of the different formats, check here: 
http://homepages.tesco.net./~J.deBoynePollard/FGA/mail-mbox-formats.html

Note, near the bottom, the problems of incompatibilities:

     - Delivering messages to "mboxcl2" format mailboxes with "mboxo"
       or "mboxrd" tools will corrupt the mailbox, rendering all
       subsequently delivered messages irretrievable.

Mutt attempts to convert from mboxo and mboxrd format into mboxcl 
format.

Generally, this is one of the general problems with mbox mailboxes 
(i.e. mailspools): everyone has a different idea of how to store 
messages in that file. The *best* thing to do, as a general rule, is 
to use mutt to move messages OUT of the mailspool and into a mailbox 
in your home directory somewhere, that only mutt uses. That way you 
can be assured that other programs, that might have a different idea 
of how to store  messages, won't corrupt it. Mutt tries to make this 
easy by allowing you to specify a $spoolfile and an $mbox to store 
read messages in. Personally, I prefer not using a centralized 
mailspool like that, but it's really up to you.

> I have Googled this extensively and found no useful answer, so have 
> been forced to revert to claws-mail for an MUA -- arrgh!

Claws-mail can read the mailspool file? Hmm... I doubt it's doing it 
correctly...

Anyway, you can attempt to fix the corrupted file by hand, using a 
text editor. Or you could try to use Claws-mail to save the messages 
elsewhere, which should enable mutt to read them in their new 
location.

~Kyle
- -- 
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but 
rather division: For henceforth there shall be five in one house 
divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be 
divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother 
against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother 
in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against 
her mother in law.
                       -- Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ (Luke 12:51-53)
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