Using OKmail with Pine

What you need to know

In order to use Pine with OKmail, you'll need to enter the following information:

• username - When you signed up for OKmail, you chose a username which is also your e-mail address. You must use the full username, including the name and the domain part, which is the part after the '@' symbol. For example, a user named Joe Bloggs might have chosen a username of "jbloggs@okmail.net". Make sure that you specify your username in lowercase only.
• password - When you signed up for OKmail, you chose a password to go along with your username. You will need the password to access your account. The password also keeps others from being able to access your e-mail. Your password is case sensitive, so be sure that you type it in correctly. "PASS123" is different to  "pass123". Often, users forget about the CapsLock button and mistype their password.
• incoming mail server (IMAP or POP) - This is the server that you get your e-mail from. Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) and Post Office Protocol (POP) are retrieval methods used to move e-mail messages from the server to your e-mail client so that you can read your messages. POP access is not available for all service levels, please check the pricing table for details. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is available for your protection as well. By enabling this option, you can keep people from reading your e-mail as it is transmitted between the e-mail server and your computer.
• outgoing mail server (SMTP) - This is the server that sends your e-mail. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the method that your client uses to move e-mail messages from your client to the server so that it can send your messages. The OKmail SMTP server is not available for all service levels, please check the pricing table for details. If your service level does not allow use of the OKmail SMTP server, you must use the SMTP server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
  
  The OKmail  SMTP server requires SMTP Authentication. This keeps people who are not users of the OKmail service from using the SMTP server to send spam messages on the Internet. SSL is also available for the OKmail SMTP server. If you don't use the OKmail SMTP server, you may have different options or requirements. You will need to get that information from your ISP.

Incoming/Outgoing Server Setup

Pine supports IMAP quite well, though the standard IMAP setup procedure through Pine doesn't seem to work at all. To setup Pine to use IMAP you will have to edit your .pinerc file directly as in the instructions below.

1. On the command prompt, go to your home directory and edit your .pinerc with vi by entering the following commands (note that <enter> means press the 'enter' key, not literally the characters <enter>)
   
   cd<enter>
vi .pinerc<enter>
   
   
2. Go to the folder list configuration by typing
   
   /folder-collections<enter>

   You should see a listing something like:

   # List of directories where saved-message folders may be. First one is
# the default for Saves. Example: Main {host1}mail/[], Desktop mail\[]
# Syntax: optnl-label {optnl-imap-hostname}optnl-directory-path[]
folder-collections=Mail mail/[]

   
   
3. Add the new OKmail connection by typing:
   
   A,<enter>
OKmail {mail.messagingengine.com/user=<jbloggs@okmail.net>/ssl}INBOX,<enter>
OKmail-Folders {mail.messagingengine.com/user=<jbloggs@okmail.net>/ssl}INBOX.[],<enter>
user-domain=mail.messagingengine.com,<enter>
inbox-path={mail.messagingengine.com/user=<jbloggs@okmail.net>/ssl}INBOX

   You should now see something like this:

   # List of directories where saved-message folders may be. First one is
# the default for Saves. Example: Main {host1}mail/[], Desktop mail\[]
# Syntax: optnl-label {optnl-imap-hostname}optnl-directory-path[]
folder-collections=Mail mail/[],
OKmail {mail.messagingengine.com/user=<jbloggs@okmail.net>/ssl}INBOX
OKmail-Folders {mail.messagingengine.com/user=<jbloggs@okmail.net>/ssl}INBOX.[]
user-domain=mail.messagingengine.com
inbox-path={mail.messagingengine.com/user=<jbloggs@okmail.net>/ssl}INBOX
   
   
4. If this is correct, type:
   
   <esc>:wq<enter>

   Which should save the changes and quit, if there were any problems, type:

   <esc>:q!<enter>

   Which will quit and ignore any changes.

5. You should now run pine and select 'Folder List' to see:
   
   PINE 4.33 COLLECTION LIST Folder: INBOX No Messages

Mail
Local folders in mail/

OKmail
Folders on okmail.net in INBOX.

   ? Help < Main Menu P PrevCltn - PrevPage
O OTHER CMDS > [View Cltn] N NextCltn Spc NextPage W WhereIs


   
   
6. Selecting the 'OKmail' item should then prompt you for your login name and password, and then bring up a list of your folders at OKmail
   

   PINE 4.33 FOLDER LIST Folder: INBOX No Messages

Folders on okmail.net in INBOX.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drafts[.] OKmail[.] Humour[.] Saved[.] Sent Items[.]
Trash[.]











[ALL of folder list]
? Help < ClctnList P PrevFldr - PrevPage A Add R Rename
O OTHER CMDS > View Dir N NextFldr Spc NextPage D Delete W WhereIs


   
   
7. You can then access, delete, move emails from OKmail using standard Pine commands.
   

To use SSL, you may need to get an updated root certificate. If Pine complains about a self-signed certificate, get the root certificate from here:

http://www.fastmail.fm/Entrust.net_Secure_Server_CA.pem

Put it where Pine is looking for it (/usr/lib/ssl/cert.pem/, /usr/local/ssl/cert/, etc) you should find the problem fixed.

Learning more about IMAP

IMAP is a powerful protocol that allows you keep to your email synchronised, whether you're at home, at work, at a friends place or an internet cafe. You don't have to worry about what computer the email is on, because all the email is kept on the server and each client sees the same 'view' of the email. See this FAQ page to learn more about IMAP

Troubleshooting Issues

1. Pine keeps complaining about a self-signed certificate.

   Please make sure that you have followed the steps to use SSL in Incoming/Outgoing Server Setup correctly.

Last modified on: Wed May 14 12:00:00 UTC 2003