Re: [PATCH v2] send-email: add ability to send a copy of sent emails to an IMAP folder

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> On 22 July 2025 10:39:01 am IST, Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com> wrote:
>> Aditya Garg <gargaditya08@live.com> writes:
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>>> Or maybe you mean, ONLY send via imap and don't use SMTP? Like
>>> this users can use their email clients to send emails?
>>
>> Exactly.  You sold this feature as "have send-email send the
>> message, and keep an extra copy you sent in your Sent imap folder".
>>
>> I pointed out that "have send-email do everything it would normally
>> do before it talks to MSA or talk SMTP to send messages out, and
>> instead drive imap-send to store these messages in a folder like
>> imap-send users have used the program so far---as the user will send
>> the messages out of their draft folder as was traditionally done by
>> any imap-send users, send-email will *not* send anything out itself"
>> as a possible different way send-email may want to use imap-send.
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>> These are two very different use cases.  We could organize things
>> this way:
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>> A1. When imap-folder is specified, that IMAP folder will get an extra
>>     copy, in addition to what send-email sends out;
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>> A2. When yet another new option, --send-email-no-send, is
>>     specified, send-email would not send any messages out.  Even
>>     when this option is in effect, if --imap-folder is specified,
>>     that IMAP folder will get an extra copy, in addition to what
>>     send-email would send out (which is nothing).
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>> Or alternatively, we can have two very different operation modes
>> that both involve imap-send:
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>> B1. When --imap-sent-folder is specified, that IMAP folder will get
>>     an extra copy, in addition to what send-email sent out via its
>>     usual route (like by invoking MSA or talking SMTP)
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>> B2. When --imap-outgo-folder is specified, that IMAP folder will
>>     get the outgo copy, later to be sent by the user (just like a
>>     user of imap-send would usually use), and send-email would not
>>     send out anything by its usual route.
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>> I thought the latter would be easier to explain to end-users, which
>> is why "sent" or "fcc" or something like that should be in the name
>> of the option when operating in the mode the patch implements.
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>> This brings up a yet another possibility.  Invoking imap-send can be
>> a new third way send-email uses to send out the messages, in addition
>> to existing (1) invoking a local "/usr/lib/sendmail" program, or (2)
>> talking SMTP to smarthost.  That would be very easy to explain the
>> operating mode B2 to users of send-email or users of imap-send, but
>> it would be a bit awkward to find where B1 conceptually fits.
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> Honestly, B2 looks like a doable thing, but I don't think people would really want to use this mode. Considering the fact that using an MSA or SMTP is much better, and commonly used. Also, imap-send was definitely not in use, especially looking that the fact that it was broken for a very long time.
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> I'll rename it to imap-sent-folder, but the name looks more like it is only for "Sent" folder, and no other folder can be used. For example I like to keep a copy of the emails I send to git mailing list in a seperate 'git' folder in my mailbox. I can set the folder name as git, and thus have a copy saved there. What do you think about that?