Kernel 3.2.29, Slackware 14.0
Seamonkey 2.12.1

Hi: More or less the question is implied in the thread title. If you need any additional data from me, please let me know. I mean, I think the program (mail client) looks for new messages on a periodic basis, say every 5 m. When he finds one, I also think it notifies me. Does it not download it at the same time? In the affirmative case, I do not understand the meaning of that setting. Do you?

you can either grab the headers, or the entire content of the email, inc images, attachments etc. Often you wouldn't want this - although less so when bandwidth is basically a non issue these days.

However it gives a second option, "Fetch headers only", which is independent from the first (check box). I ask because I am noticing a strange behavior in the Seamonkey mail program, never before seen by me, and I have used it for some years now: When mail arrives, I am notified. However, the data does not show up in the window where all incoming messages are listed. Only if I press the Get Messages button it gets into the window.

It's not a bug, it's a feature!

Getting only the headers means that you can right-click and delete instead of opening 99% of the crap you get (like: ads, promos, stuff you don't care about, "news" from the folks that seem dedicated to sending you videos of cats, all that).

Of course you can let everything download that comes in then plow though it if that's what you enjoy doing.

Newsgroups work the same way by default, you'll see the headers, click one and the message downloads.

It saves bandwidth, save you time (even a few seconds of my time not looking at a damned commercial is worth saving). It's your system, it's your choice (unlike, say, television?).

well yes, that's exactly what I described.

I guess you've three levels -

1) check for the existense of mails. raise a notification
2) check, notify and get the headers so you can see who sent you a mail, but not what is in it
3) check, notify and get everything

It's that I do NOT see any headers. Have you read post no.3?

Your first post really doesn't explain what you're seeing at all clearly.

It was always level 2 with me, the default behavior after I finished installation. Now it's only level 1. But I did not do anything different. Well, doesn't matter. By the way, I learn something new. Only that I do not seem to find the right option to check so I can go back to normal (normal I mean the default behavior I described, level 2).

The first post was very clear. What does the option mean? A clear cut question, I think. It was in post #3 where I explained why I was doing that question. Perhaps, I should have opened another thread, but I thought it was wasting space.

LinuxQestions.org is not a newsgroup -- newsgroups are at addresses similar to nntp.aioe.org or at news.mozilla.org at a news server (an NNTP is not a mail server or web address like LinuxQuestions.org is). You get to one of the news servers and subscribe to a news group; e.g., alt.os.linux.slackware.

Thunderbird and SeaMonkey both have the capability to subscribe to and manage newsgroups; once subscribed, you will only see the headers until you click on one to actually download the message(s).

Newsgroups have gotten to be pretty much a thing of the past, not gone, but dwindling. If you want play around, read the help in either Thunderbird or SeaMonkey about setting up access (you subscribe to newsgroups in the mail and newsgroups area of SeaMonkey or Thunderbird, not in Firefox -- it's not for mail/newsgroups, it's a browser).

Browsers are one thing, mail is another and newsgroups are yet a third -- comparing them is like comparing apples, oranges and bananas (they're all fruit but not the same thing at all).

I do not understand a bit. What newsgroups are you speaking about? I only use email accounts.

Newsgroups are USENET see here :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet

If you have a standard Slackware instalation run "pan". It will
ask you for a news server. Write in the dialog box
"news.gmane.org" (you don't need a password).

1 members found this post helpful.

I ran pan and did not create a password. However, I got
Elsewhere it said "You need to set a password" or something like that.

Thanks for the tip, Walter. Now I get a lot of useful information about Slackware (among others) in one place.