[LUG] Email clients for newbies

[Neil Winchurst <barnaby@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been asking around among friends and family, what do they use 
their emails for?  All said the same, just to keep in touch with friends 
and family, especially those with relations overseas. None of them were 
interested in extras like calendars, memos, to do lists etc. They just 
wanted a simple, easy to use email client. They also wanted to be able 
to see any HTML emails easily. So, being able to see any pictures in the 
email, and not needing to click on a URL to open a browser first was 
important.

So I have been looking at some of the recommended email clients for 
Linux. Here are some comments.

Evolution. Easy to set up. Too many extras. Keeps asking for a keyring. 
Weird way of handling deleted emails.The compose font too small. 
Difficult to understand how to set up an address book.

Kmail. Not so easy to set up. Too many extras. Can't find a way to put 
sent mails in the desired folder. Keeps asking about kwallet.

Both of those include far to much for a newbie, and confusing requests 
for passwords each new session.

Sylpheed. Easy to set up. Plenty of choice for layout. But does not deal 
directly with HTTML. Have to click on the URL each time to open up a 
browser.

Claws mail. Much like sylpheed, plus does not handle deleted emails 
properly.

So finally to Thunderbird. This is the only one that I think could be 
really suitable for someone new to Linux and who just wants a simple way 
to send and receive mails, to see any pictures in the email (no need to 
click on a URL) and does not include any unwanted extras.

So, any one that I move over to Linux will definitely be set up with 
TBird as the email client.

These are just my thoughts on the matter, open for discussion of course. 
Does anyone want to shoot me down in flames?

I do want to see lots of people move over to Linux. The choice of 
packages is important. I suspect that some will be looking for a reason 
to move back to that other system. An email client that seems 
unnecessarily complicated could be enough.

Comments

Neil

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