PLEASE NOTE: This help page applies to our internal webmail found at (Webmail) and NOT to the webmail service provided by hp.bccna.bc.ca

NOTE NUMBER 2: No matter if you use POP or IMAP, you are accessing the same mailbox.There are no separate "IMAP" or "POP" email boxes. Whatever mail comes in for you goes to one place. IMAP or POP is only the METHOD by which you are accessing your mail.

We have recently (Nov 18 2005) implemented IMAP mail on this system. This allows enhanced features such as folder sharing between accounts which may pose a security risk. Use at your own discretion. Our webmail uses the Horde Framework. Enhanced features such as user-based password changing, calendars, and online task lists may be added later according to available resources and demand. Folders you create during an IMAP session are *NOT* accessible from a POP session. A POP session offers only basic functionality to retrieve/send/forward/respond etc, and if you use a client such as Outlook or Thunderbird any folders you create are actually created on your local computer and inaccessible from another location. Folders created during an IMAP session are created *ON THE SERVER* and not on your local computer.

Overview of IMAP and POP.

POP -Pros - Simply works. Any email client can use it. Email gets off-loaded from server to your local machine (when using a client such as Outlook or Thunderbird) so you have it if the server malfunctions.

POP -Cons - You can't have shared mailboxes or folders. You can't collect mail collected at one computer while at another computer. Webmail filter has no folders except global Inbox.

IMAP -Pros - You can share a mailbox or a folder with with others (you also have control over what priveleges those mailboxes or folders allow to what shared users). With webmail + IMAP you get an interface similar to an email client program with folders you put things in, basic filters you can use to sort incoming mail, etc. You can access already-viewed or collected mail from any computer with internet access and a web browser that understands Java.

IMAP -Cons - Some email clients don't interface well with IMAP (PINE for instance). You may conceivably share an important folder with everyone in the world by mistake. If you exclusively use the webmail interface without occasionally offloading mail with a client program and the server conks out, those mails are gone as well. Folder systems you create in IMAP interface are inaccessible from POP interface.

RECENT INFO UPDATE - Login attempts currently show that conventional-type torfree.net accounts named in the "letter-letter-#-#-#" format work with both POP and IMAP systems through our webmail. Torfree.net accounts with custom names of 8 characters or less also seem able to use both systems interchangeably. Torfree.net accounts with custom names longer that 8 characters or recently renamed tfnet.ca accounts with long names currently only are able to use POP login.

UPDATE 2 - ADSL customers who relay mail through our systems from a fixed IP address need to contact us if they experience problems - we need to add your IP to our list of trusted machines before it will work properly again.

Updated Nov 24 01:04am, Michael Kaulbach

Further questions may be directed by email to (support@tfnet.ca)

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