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Date:	Sun, 29 Aug 2004 21:31:11 PDT7
From:	Peter Skye <pskye@peterskye.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: Mozilla mail filters - A VERSE FOR RAY

Content Type: text/plain

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Steven Levine wrote:
>
> If you read a couple of the links, you may find that the Mozilla
> format is compatible with what you are already doing for netscape.
> At least, that's the way I interpret what little I read.

My very old Netscape 2.02 uses a filtering method that is very different
from later Netscapes. I haven't seen anything on using Netscape 2.02
filters. Might I be the last remaining person on earth using this
program?

The Netscape 2.02 SORT.DAT filter file is text lines, one line per
filter, and each line contains three fields: the target folder, the
header line to be checked (no body filtering allowed), and the string to
be matched.

For example, here's my SCOUG-Help filter line from my SORT.DAT:

0020-Inbox-SCOUG Reply-To scoug-help@scoug.com

Luckily, my master file that creates my SORT.DAT can also be used to
generate other filter file formats, including a format that's compatible
with Mozilla. I think.

-- 1. The logic for filtering is a little tricky for mail lists. First,
my own list threads are separately filtered on Subject so I can quickly
find them. Then I filter on four White Lists (Family, Friends,
Business, Personal). Then I filter on X-BeenThere and Reply-To lines
(there's also a Return-Path line which can be useful in some cases) to
extract the list messages. Sometimes somebody posts to a list and also
Cc's you directly, so the next step is to filter out mail personally
addressed to me (the messages directly to me don't have X-BeenThere or
Reply-To so haven't been filtered yet). After that, I can filter on
From, To and Cc (some lists don't use X-BeenThere, Reply-To or
Return-Path). Then there are a dozen or so Junk Spy filters, plus a few
of my own spam filters which catch repetitive things that Junk Spy
misses.

So that's the first important thing that my filter generation utility
does -- it puts these filters in the correct order.

-- 2. Then there's my folder priority numbers. Each of my folders
begins with a priority number so they appear in "priority sequence"
rather than "alphabetical sequence". If I want to change a folder's
priority I have to close Netscape, then rename the folders and
regenerate the SORT.DAT filter file so the incoming messages will be
sent to the new folder name, and then restart Netscape.

That's the second important thing that my generation utility does.
Since Mozilla doesn't have any way to "send" filter modifications to it
plus rename the mail folders on-the-fly, I'll still have to close it
whenever I change the filtering. When I restart Mozilla it will find
the newly-named folders plus the updated filter file.

- Peter

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