IMAP Trash emails permanently deleted with Retention Policy Never Delete
My account setting is Never Delete. IMAP Trash Retention Policy is Never Delete. Nevertheless, emails disapper from Trash after a week or two. I have changed my email account password (lots of times) so I know there is not a rogue email client deleting emails. I have deleted my profile and reconfigured everything to no avail.
I've had this problem for years. Inmotionhosting is my ISP and they swear they do not delete emails. I have other accounts at Inmotionhosting that do not have this problem. I use TB almost all the time. Rarely I do access this account through SquirrelMail.
All Replies (7)
Sure your problem is not this service? http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/email/email-troubleshooting/imap-archiving
- what OS do you use?
- What version of Thunderbird?
If you logon to your webmail account using a browser, what is the server folder for Trash called? Is it called 'Trash' or 'Deleted' or 'Deleted Items' etc.
Please read this info as IMAP mail accounts have more options regarding deleting: http://kb.mozillazine.org/Deleting_messages_in_IMAP_accounts
Suggest you try 'Mark it as deleted' option.
Thanks for the tip, but I checked and InMo has NOT turned on this service.
I currently use Linux Mint 15 Mate and Firefox 26.0, but as I say, I have had this problem for years, including when I used Windows 7 and every version of Firefox that was auto updated in the last 3-4 years. Trash is called Trash. Deleted items are moved to the Trash folder.
(I use Trash as part of my file system in order to keep a clean Inbox. I delete things I don't need quickly with the expecation I can dig them out of Trash if I need to. My workaround has been to create a filter that copies everything I receive to a Trash2 folder. But I have lost things when I Occasionally used the web interface, which has no filters, and deleted stuff before it got copied to Trash2.)
Trash is really designed to hold trash; those emails that you do not want. Having a Trash folder is like a holding area just in case you deleted in error and can get access to that message deleted in error instead of completely deleting it instantly. I would not recommend using it as a general storage area for emails you need to keep, even temporarily. Some servers eg: yahoo, actually delete emails held in the server Trash folder on a regular basis.
As previously mentioned, deleting in IMAP mail accounts offer more options and act deferently. Using the try 'Mark it as deleted' option to see if this stops the purging.
At the link I gave, it explains the differences in deleting, but it also mentions setting a preference to always ask before emptying the Trash folder. If you want Thunderbird to ask for confirmation when emptying a trash folder, set mail.imap.confirm_emptyTrashFolderDeletion to true. This should appear and offer you the option to stop the emptying of the Trash.
One method you might think to be useful would be to keep a folder called eg: 'TempHold' and move emails into that folder which you do not want to 'Delete' just yet. You can set the Retention Policy on that folder, right click and select 'Properties' then click on 'Retention Policy' tab.
Another method would be to use your Local Folders. Emails in Local Folders are not held on the server, they are stored on your computer.
Thank you for taking time to think about my issue. Yes, I can work around it in various ways. As I said, I currently use a filter to copy everything to Trash2, and I said why this is not entirely satisfying. But I am convined that TB is doing something it shouldn't. There was a time when it didn't do that.
Should I submit a bug report somewhere?
You can create a bug report here: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/index.cgi?logout=1
You will need to register to post a bug. It would be worth while checking to see if a bug report has already been posted, then add your 'vote' to that bug. Please let them know your OS, version of Thunderbird, type of mail account,- IMAP, settings you are using for deleting etc.