tlug: Mail splitting

[Frank Bennett <bennett@example.com>]

Dear all,

I've been tuning an elaborate splitting algorithm under
Emacs/Gnus for about a year now.  It does what I want, but I
think it's time that the splitting works were extracted from
Gnus, properly abstracted, and set up under procmail.

Going through the procmail docs, I've concluded that it can
handle the tasks I need it to perform.  But when it comes down to
the coding, I'm likely to have questions.  Is anyone closely
familiar with procmail rules?  If so, and you'd be willing to
receive queries as I proceed with this, please let me know by
private post.  ALSO: if something like this has already been
done, please let me know!!!

When this is finished, I'll post it to the list.  It will
consist of a script (probably Tcl, because that's what I'm most
comfortable with) and a specification for writing four
simple configuration files.  The script will grind the config
files into a valid .procmail file that you can slot into place.

The config files will specify patterns to match mail fitting into
four categories:

  A) Ignore -- ignore this address and move on

  B) Mailing lists -- save mail to the designated folder;
     do not save to INBOX, or under D or E if this matches.

  C) Mail interest -- save mail to the designated folder
     and also in any folders matching under B or D,
     or in INBOX; do not save under E if this matches.

  D) People -- save mail to the designated folder and in
     the INBOX; do not save under E if this matches.

  E) other (implicit) -- catch-all folder for mail that
     was not caught by categories B, C or D.  All mail
     delivered to "other" is also delivered to "INBOX".

Under "People", you will be able to extract the name of an
account from a match, and use that as the prefix of a drop-box
for the matching mail.  So (roughly) "\/[-_a-zA-Z0-9]+@example.com"
can store ab@example.com and cd@example.com to the separate
folders "SOAS.ab" and "SOAS.cd".

The end result of this is that, for known correspondents,
everything that they have seen is collected in a mailbox bearing
their name.  This is handy when you're trying to keep track of
what's been said to whom.

I'll probably also include a script to provide a Gnus-style
"auto-expire" facility, so that old mailing-list mail can be set
to quietly disappear.

Cheers,
Frank



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