[horde] Marking messages as seen on delete

[Ole Wolf]

Quoting Michael M Slusarz <slusarz at horde.org>:
>> Most email clients allow the user to mark an entire selection of  
>> messages as "seen" without ever displaying them to the user. Imp  
>> allows this, too.
>   See above.&nbsp; This is a proactive action on the user's part to  
> "read" the message - in this case, the user simply doesn't care to  
> view the actual text.&nbsp; In both of these cases (viewing a  
> message, SPECIFICALLY marking a message as read), the user has  
> implicitly viewed the message.

That would also be the case if the user has opted to mark a message as  
read when it is deleted. It shouldn't be the default setting, of course.

>   On the other hand, say I have looked at the envelope of the  
> message indicates it is junk mail.&nbsp; I can then write "REVIEWED"  
> on the message and throw it in the trash.&nbsp; Anybody could look  
> into the trash can and determine that I have actually reviewed the  
> message, to the extent that I have determined that its contents do  
> not interest me.

In my real world, I just throw the envelope into the trash. I don't  
bother writing "REVIEWED" on it, because that's kind of implied when I  
trash it. I'm suggesting basically this scenario for emails.

>   The final thing I could do is to simply throw the message  
> out.&nbsp; However, somebody looking at the trash could not  
> specifically tell whether I have ever viewed the message.&nbsp; In  
> fact, it is equally as likely that the message ended up in the  
> mailbox by mistake.&nbsp; This has to be the default understanding,  
> unless I have proactively done something to indicate I have reviewed  
> the message.

That would be a risk that the user assumes when the "Mark messages as  
read when they are deleted" option is selected. By default, the option  
should be deselected for the reason outlined above, but it doesn't  
mean the option must not be available.

>   In short, Delete != Read

Yes, and that's why I'm suggesting that the user could have an option  
where the message is marked as "deleted" AND "seen" at the same time  
when the user deletes it.

>   In the absence of mandatory language, the default HAS to be  
> leaving the message in the status quo then.

Not really. If the RFC doesn't state anything, it makes most sense to  
do what is best from the user's perspective.

--
Ole Wolf
Rødhættevej 4 * 9400 Nørresundby
Telefon: 9632-0108 * Mobil: 2467-5526 * Skype: ole.wolf * SIP:  
ole.wolf at ekiga.net

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