I just can’t find a decent email client that looks like it’s from the last 20 years. Geary and Evolution both appear to be pretty modern but something about using Gmail with a Yubikey just doesn’t work and neither of them will connect to my account. Both on Fedora and OpenSUSE. Thunderbird works but it’s so old fashioned and Betterbird doesn’t look much better. What’s everyone else using?
I was using Thunderbird, but I have had a number of issues with it. Crashing seems to happen whether I use the Flatpak or install from AUR.
I have switched back to using web clients for my mail for the time being.
I am using debias as os , and never had a problem with thunderbird, did you used recently? I am not against web, but i manage 5 emails so no way the web is a option for me. Also i start to use the rss from thunder and is cool.
I have never had thunderbird crash. Not questioning what you say but perhaps its sonsthing else? Did u try deleting thubderbird data and starting fresh ?
I will likely go back and try that. I however know just like in other email clients, if I have thousands of emails per account its bound to be slower. I did clean out each box. I plan to use Thunderbird again once I clear out all of those emails and consolidate to one email address.
I will have to investigate which directories to purge.
My inbox has upward of 17,000 emails and thunderbird doesn’t have any issues with it. So it should be okay with it.
Why do you install Thunderbird from the AUR? It’s available on the official repository in Archlinux repos (and all distros based on). And updates are extremely quick. Can’t say anything about the Flatpak version, because I never used it other than “native” installation. I am using it since over a decade and don’t remember having crashes, maybe once in a while (1 time per year maybe fault of something else). I actually use Thunderbird with 5 accounts from different providers, plus use it as my RSS feed reader, because its stable for me.
I know saying “it works for me” won’t help you, but maybe its an indication that something else is wrong. I would recommend to install it from official repository instead.
I may have misspoke, I use an AUR helper to install many programs and utilities, and am not at my computer to view the actual source. So I took a gamble and guessed AUR. My apologies.
It could have been other instability, as I mentioned in another comment I didn’t really look too deep into it since it wasn’t so important. And by no means am I blaming Thunderbird (regardless of source) for the issues I have had. It truly is a great email client.
Edit: It is from official source, not AUR. I have the same setup on my personal laptop. It came from Extras, and not AUR.
May have to investigate a bit. May have to figure out each directory to purge, do a pacman -Rnsu thunderbird
Then purge directories related, then reinstall.
I see. Well Thunderbird is not the only mail client, there are other good alternatives. Hope you find something that works for you. Who knows what the actual problem is, sometimes one can’t figure it out and has to use an alternative.
I wonder if it has to to with the email provider or something? It isn’t fast for me but it gets the job done and is stable and predictable even with thousands of emails
I just use Protonmail’s web client. Fast, sleek, similar polish to gmail imo.
For an actual desktop client, Thunderbird with Dark Reader addon and some tweaks for theming.
Honestly though, I just prefer the web client from Proton, it’s really nice.
I think this was a different smartphone app that would get the Thunderbird branding… searching… ah, it’s K-9: https://blog.thunderbird.net/2022/06/revealed-thunderbird-on-android-plans-k9/
I guess the question is, why do you need a client? I find most web interfaces to be sufficient, you can enable browser notifications, create an “app” so that it’s in a stand-alone window, etc.
As another comment said, I just use the Proton web interface.
I think this is a fair question. I haven’t seen anyone mention the benefits of using a non-web mail client (OP mentioned Yubikey but 2FA isn’t uncommon with web mail). I would actually consider using one if it gave me clean up options (e.g. haven’t opened an email in 3 days and the sender is not in my address book move to Junk/Spam). Main reason I rarely look at email is that it’s 90% stuff I have no desire to read and marking things as spam is a never ending cycle.
I guess the question is, why do you need a client? I find most web interfaces to be sufficient
Clients like Thunderbird download the mails for a local copy. That means, you can a) read and search your mails offline, b) backup all mails. That’s not all. Such a client also: c) allows a unified interface to all different mail accounts from different providers in one view, d) better integration into your system, such as tray icons for notifications.
Everyone does their thing, so not saying you are doing it wrong, just giving you reasons to use an offline mail client; as you asked why.
Those are all totally fair considerations, just not requirements in my workflow. I’m coming at it from a personal use case, where I don’t need offline access to my personal email, and I only have one email account to check (my Gmail is forwarded to my Proton mail).
My question was more to lead OP down the requirements gathering path, to evaluate their actual needs and if a client is actually required or if it’s more of a “nice to have”.
Thanks for laying out some of those advantages to a client though. Every user has their own needs and if offline access, multiple accounts, consistent UI, etc. are desired, then a client is certainly a great option.
It lets you have all of your emails offline as well. If you have to reference an older email, it’s faster than loading the webpage again.
Some desktop email clients lets you manage your emails, contacts, tasks, and calendars all in one program, which loads immediately instead of loading multiple web pages. This is why I love Evolution and Thunderbird.
If you have multiple email accounts, it’s easier to use an email client, rather than having to log into multiple websites.
The search function in some web interfaces suck.
Some people just don’t like their email provider’s web interface.
Thunderbird on OpenSUSE
