Re: Can't delete messages marked to delete in Maildir

[Kyle Wheeler <kyle-mutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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On Wednesday, November 28 at 11:26 AM, quoth Patrick Ben Koetter:
> * Kyle Wheeler <kyle-mutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>> On Wednesday, November 28 at 10:09 AM, quoth Patrick Ben Koetter:
>>> I have the following configuration:
>>>
>>> set delete = yes 
>>> set folder = "~/.Maildir" 
>>> set maildir_trash = yes 
>>> set mbox = "~/.Maildir" 
>>> set mbox_type = "Maildir" 
>>> set spoolfile = "~/.Maildir"
>>>
>>> When I mark a message to be deleted in my Maildir mailbox it won't be 
>>> deleted.
>> 
>> What does it do instead of being deleted? Does it mark the messages in 
>> any way? When are you expecting the message to actually be deleted? 
>
> Yes, it marks the message with a capital "D".

... okay. Let's be a bit more explicit. Is this (let's say "case A") 
the sequence?:

     1. launch mutt
     2. mark a message for deletion
     3. sync the mailbox (e.g. by triggering the <sync> function,
          commonly bound to the $ key)
     4. message is still there

Or is this ("case B") the sequence (which is what your first email 
sounded like):

     1. launch mutt
     2. mark a message for deletion
     3. message is still there

If the former is the case, then I'd suspect that you may have some 
hooks or something that are altering your $delete setting without you 
realizing it. If the latter is the case, then that's correct mutt 
behavior.

>> Immediately upon being marked or only when you synchronize your 
>> folder (or mutt exits)?
>
> Immediately upon being marked.

So... case B. In that case, that's the correct behavior.

> I sent a message to my Maildir style mailbox in my homedirectory. 
> I read it using mutt with the above given config. 
> After reading the message the maildir is like this:
>
> /home/nutzer23/.Maildir/ 
> |-- cur 
> |   `-- 1196182469.V805I649f9M72775.notebook23:2,ST 
> |-- new 
> `-- tmp

... looks correct so far...

>>      2. What did you expect the computer to do?
>
> I expected mutt to delete the message upon exit or after I had sent CTRL-$.

If you've only done what you described in response to question 1, then 
you're right, mutt doesn't delete messages just for giggles. You have 
to tell mutt to delete the message first (i.e. mark it for deletion).

Assuming that you actually did more than what you described, and that 
you DID mark the message for deletion, but that the message was not 
deleted when you exited (CTRL-$ doesn't do anything by default, and in 
most terminals it's an invalid key sequence), assuming you exited 
safely rather than by simply killing mutt (e.g. CTRL-\), then you have 
an interesting issue on your hands. My suspicion would be that 
something (a hook or some other configuration details) is mucking with 
your $delete setting without your knowledge.

>> On the surface of it, your email is open to a sarcastic answer 
>> along the lines of "that would be the difference between *marking* 
>> a message for deletion and actually deleting it. Just marking a 
>> message for deletion does not immediately delete it. That's the 
>> expected behavior."
>
> Kyle, please. I am in the middle to some Postfix training and we 
> have this problem here with mutt. I do answer many calls on the 
> Postfix mailing list and I know about the importance of giving 
> valuable hints. I hope I did this time.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but seriously, "I marked messages for 
deletion, and they're not deleted!" leaves room for a misunderstanding 
about how mutt operates. For example, some folk may expect "marked for 
deletion" messages to vanish from the index immediately when they are 
marked that way.

~Kyle
- -- 
There can be but little liberty on earth while men worship a tyrant in 
heaven.
                                              -- Robert Green Ingersoll
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