Can a POP3 request affect a mail server?

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Godiva
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Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:22 pm

Can a POP3 request affect a mail server?

Post by Godiva »

I'm having issues with AT&T/Yahoo mail's SPAMGuard option - it's putting things into my online SPAM folder even though I turned that option off (I'll be addressing this in another post, so please don't bother discussing that issue). One of the 2nd tier support people suggested that one of my local clients might be moving the messages into my SPAM folder directly (or labeling a message on the server as SPAM which causes the web client to move it). This seems to go against everything I've learned about POP3 protocol, I had thought the only thing a local POP3 client can do to the server is to retrieve (AKA "Fetch") mail from the server and (if requested) delete messages off the server, nothing else. I know that IMAP can do more sophisticated things, like moving messages among folders, but Yahoo (or at least my Yahoo account) doesn't allow IMAP access to my mail. So my question is:

1) Can any client using only a POP3 protocol either move messages into another folder or label them so that the web client moves them? This is not just POPPeeper, but other clients.

2) I realize that PP can use other protocols to access the server (e.g. the Yahoo server option), so can using the Yahoo server option allow this type of manipulation of the messages on the server?

Given some of the far-fetched (and wrong) suggestions I've been told by some of the AT&T support people in the past, I'm extremely skeptical that what they suggest is possible, but I figured I'd ask this from people who really know POP3.

Thanks in advance!
G
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Jeff
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Re: Can a POP3 request affect a mail server?

Post by Jeff »

You're absolutely right -- POP3 is simply not capable of doing any message manipulation except deleting. Fetch messages and delete -- that's about all POP3 is good for.
POP Peeper's "Yahoo" server type wouldn't do this, either.

Surely (!) Yahoo's tech support would have mentioned this -- but what about Filters in your Yahoo account moving the messages?

This is somewhat irrelevant, but are you sure you don't have access to IMAP? Many free Yahoo accounts do, although I've never been able to figure out the criteria that Yahoo used to determine which accounts do and which don't. If you're sure you don't have Imap access, it would be a good argument to give to their support staff.
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