Thunderbird junk filter works when mail is received. there is no other time. With a filter you can set certain email in a folder to junk, just as you can with the button on the toolbar.

My guess on almost no information is you are using a yahoo account with IMAP. Yahoo are out of control with their spam filter and will actually continually reset the spam/junk flag on an email even after you manually set it to something else.

Thanks for the reply, Matt...but--sorry, no cigar yet.

I'm actually using a gmail account with POP and have been for decades (I wouldn't use Yahoo if they paid me to do it!) I've started receiving junk/spam email in T'bird that isn't showing up in my inbox on the gmail website, which is very strange because gmail shouldn't be "forwarding" any email that isn't my inbox.

You said With a filter you can set certain email in a folder to junk, just as you can with the button on the toolbar.

My "filtering" consists entirely of the following (which SHOULD work): Because junk/spam arrives in all kinds of shapes and sizes, I A) accept T'bird's assessment that an email IS junk/spam and delete it-- SUPPOSEDLY consigning it to the Junk folder, but 99% of 'em land in the trash folder marked as spam.... or B) choose "ignore settings for this message" and delete to the trash folder where it gets marked as spam anyway....or C) Decide that an email T'bird doesn't consider to be junk/spam actually is, mark it as such and delete it. Those never land in the junk file either. In fact, almost NOTHING ever goes to the junk folder from my inbox except a few legitimate emails that shouldn't have. However, T'bird does sometimes decide that some things (my church's weekly newsletter is one) that aren't spam/junk are and just sends 'em to my trash file instead of my inbox. Doesn't always happen, just often enough that when something doesn't arrive in my inbox when it should, I've learned to check my trash file for it--and always find it there, marked Junk, of course.

T'bird is also moving junk emails I've moved from my trash file to the junk file BACK into my trash file...I went through my trash file this afternoon and moved 28 (for at least the third time) to the junk file. Tonight they're all back in my trash file marked junk.

As I said above, I've been using FF and T'bird with a gmail POP interface since the days they were both part of a Netscape bundle (with a hiatus after Mozilla sold NS to AOL, who ruined it). So I don't think I need any "retraining" to learn how to use it. Besides, everything worked just fine till about 6 months ago, which IMO is a result of something that changed in an update. And I think T'bird's junk/spam filters need some work!

A bit long, but I wanted to give you as much info as possible. Thanks for jumping in to help!

Peggie

Delete in a filter means to the trash folder. Probably a good thing as the junk filtering is not 100%.

Now gmail is a special case, like all multi nationals they are a PITA. in their web interface they place things in the spam folder. I have found that some but not all of that arrives as mail when I connect with POP. Go figure because it leaves me wondering.

I have also found that mail in the important, family etc folders that go with their priority inbox is also subject to random download. Some does some does not and I can find no repeatable "steps to reproduce" that I can file as a bug.

So the next step here is really look at add-ons. ALL of them in the first instance. What do you have installed? The troubleshooting information on the help menu makes for an easy copy and paste, as long as you know CTrl+C copies when you drag to select.

One thing we have found to be particularly problematic are anything added by an anti virus product. The Mcafee add-on for example was adisaster. But it is not alone.

Hi again, Matt...

So the next step here is really look at add-ons. ALL of them in the first instance. What do you have installed?

If by add-ons you mean all those sub-inboxes (family, important, business etc), none, in either gmail or T'bird. I do sometimes create folders in T'bird "local folders" into which I move things like airline tickets, hotel reservations etc, but nothing in either of my inboxes or trash files. And when move mail to 'em from my inbox, I use the "move" function. The only actual add-ons on my computer are an ad blocker, java and Adobe Flash...and I'm VERY careful never to let any of 'em add anything like the Yahoo toolbar or McAfee when I run updates.

One thing we have found to be particularly problematic are anything added by an anti virus product. The Mcafee add-on for example was a disaster. But it is not alone.

The only time I ever tried McAfee, it locked up my computer, but that was years ago. I've used Bitdefender Total Security (currently v. 2018) for several years. Never has caused a problem with anything. I also run C-Cleaner Pro (I keep it updated too) at least once a week. That's about all.

So I have feeling the best advice you're gonna have for me is, "You're just gonna have to suck it up, Buttercup, it is what it is." If that's the case, it's not doing any actual harm, it's just an irritant I could prob'ly eliminate by deleting everything in my trash file that I know for certain I'll never need to find again.

Thanks so much for trying!

Peggie