====== Native NetBSD mail(1) Setup and Use: ======

This is the native mail client on **NetBSD**, the operating system the SDF cluster runs on.  For historical reasons there are several aliases: //mail(1), Mail(1), mailx(1)//, however sticking to the first two will avoid name collision with any non-native clients.  While //mail(1)// has some MIME support it lacks folder-level hooks as well as POP3 or IMAP support so it may only appeal to users with modest mail needs.  That said, native //mail(1)// is quite capable of meeting most SDF email needs.

===== Setup =====

Native //mail(1)// uses  **~sdfuser/.mailrc**  for its configurations; below is an annotated sample config file which should work for most SDF users with little modification:

<file config ~sdfuser/.mailrc>
### NetBSD mail(1) config file (~/.mailrc):

## Hold mail in system Inbox (/sdf/mail/$USER):
set hold

## Set top of mail folder tree & cd into it; can
## be any name but "mail" or "Mail" is typical:
# use '~/mail/':
set folder=mail
# allows simple folder changes, ex. 'fi Sent' instead of 'fi +/Sent':
chdir mail

## Set non-std mbox and record names/locations.
## (default loc: ~/ ; '+' prefix => ~/mail/..):
# ~/mbox is default:
set MBOX=+Save
# none is default:
set record=+Sent

## Header fields to ignore & retain:
ignore message-id received fcc status resent-date resent-message-id resent-from in-reply-to
retain bcc cc date from subject to user-agent organization

## Add additional headers - these are added to outgoing
## messages unless editted/deleted in composition mode:
Header User-Agent: NetBSD Mail version 9.1alpha 2009-02-25
Header Organization: SDF Public Access UNIX System

## uncomment to tweak the 'From:' field; default is
## SDF user GECOS field (use userinfo(1) to list):
#Header From: SDFuser at SDF <sdfuser@beevomit.org>

# Open even if no mail:
set emptystart

## Email aliases:
# use for contacting SDF membership:
alias sdfhelp 'SDF membership <membership@sdf.org>'
# a list of users, both local and remote:
alias wrkgrp sdfuser2 sdfuser3 rmtuser@remote.addr 'The Boss <boss@big.house>'

## set alt. editor(s) and pager; these will override
## user's EDITOR, VISUAL, PAGER shell env. vars:
# default is PAGER:
#set PAGER=more
# default is EDITOR:
#set EDITOR=nano
# default is VISUAL:
#set VISUAL=$HOME/bin/veditor

## Set an alternate escape char for composition mode; this
## helps prevent command collision with ssh(1) which also uses
## the '~' character for session escapes:
# set escape char to "`" (backtick):
#set escape=`
  
## enable piping output of mailx cmds. In example, typing
## '|wc -w' gives word count for *body* of current msg:
set enable-pipes

# Set things to prompt for before sending:
set append ask autoprint

## Set indent prefix (for Replys); use with '~m':
set indentprefix="> "
    
## Set autograph string & alternate (use with '~a' & '~A'):
set sign='SDFuser / SDF Public Access UNIX'
set Sign='SDFuser of SDF'

## pipe html/text type messages thru lynx(1), the text
## web browser.  This makes reading html msgs easier:
set mime-decode-header mime-decode-message mime-decode-quote
set mime-body-text-html="+/usr/pkg/bin/lynx -force_html -dump -stdin"

</file>

===== Basic Use =====

The //mail(1)// manpage will explain basic usage; once //mail(1)// is running you can type ''help'' and ''list'' for basic help info and a listing of commands.  Many commands can be abbreviated, i.e. 'm' for ''mailto'', 'd' for ''delete'', 'p' for ''print''. To page through multiple screens of messages use ''z'' (down) and ''z -'' (up).  A useful command is ''x'' which will quit without saving changes -- handy if you've made several unintended changes, i.e. deleting a bunch of messages.

==== Composition ====

To compose a new message either launch mail(1) with ''mail someone@addr.foo'' or type ''m someone@addr.foo'' within mail(1).  Any defined aliases can be substituted for an address or group of addresses.  For example if ** alias mylist one@addr1 two@addr2 three@addr3 ** is defined then typing ''m mylist'' will send your message to all addresses to the right of "mylist". 

To reply to a message to a user from within //mail(1)// type ''R''.  This will put you in composition mode; to get help type ''~?'' or "?" prefixed with whatever alternate escape character you've set (may be needed within secure shell sessions).

Some useful composition commands: ''~m'' will quote the current message using the //indentprefix// character(s); ''~e'' will launch the editor set in EDITOR; ''~a'' will add the signature string assigned to //sign//.  To finish your reply type either ''CNTL+D'' or a single "." on a new line.  If you've changed your mind and want to discard your reply type ''~x'' (or ''~q'' which will save the text to your ~/dead.letter file).  To later retrieve the discarded contents within composition mode type ''~r ~/dead.letter''. 

==== Tips & Tricks ====

1. If you'd rather not change the default composition mode escape character for //mail(1)// but are using secure shell (ssh) to connect to SDF you can add the following to your ** ~/.ssh/config ** file:
 
<file config ~homeuser/.ssh/config>
# disable pty escapes:
EscapeChar none
</file>
 
This will disable PTY escapes completely; alternately you can choose a different escape character if needed.

2. The VISUAL editor variable can be set within ** ~/.mailrc ** to a shell script which invokes an interactive lynx(1) session on the current mail message (or several messages).  This is useful for easilly following embedded URLs (lynx supports many protocols besides http/https such as gopher, finger, news and ftp).  The following is a sample script:

<file config ~sdfuser/bin/veditor>
#!/bin/sh -e
# veditor - for using lynx(1) as VISUAL editor in mail(1)
#

{ echo '<pre>'
  cat $* |egrep -m4 '^From:|^Date:|^To:|^Subject:'
  cat $* |sed '1,/^$/d'
  echo '</pre>'  ;} |lynx -force_html -stdin
 </file>

To use current message just type ''v'' ; if in composition mode use ''~v''.  It doesn't always look pretty but it's often enough for following a few links.