GreenNet mailboxes have a pretty sizeable capacity of 250MB, usually equivalent to many thousand emails. Even this can fill up when email is not deleted from the server for a few months , perhaps because the mailbox’s owner has configured the email program to leave mail indefinitely, or because she or he only accesses mail via the web interface (https://webmail.gn.apc.org). The mailbox size was last increased in Spring 2008.
When the mailbox is full, the mail will not be delivered, and senders will receive a bounce message like:
: can't create user output file. Command output: procmail: Error while writing to "/var/spool/mail/(mailbox)"
Mailbox owners will receive a warning email when the mailbox exceeds 80% capacity, indicating that action should be taken. This will usually involve ensuring there is an email program deleting old mail via POP.
Here’s how to find the setting on various email programs on PC and Mac:
Mozilla Thunderbird / Netscape 6/7
In the ‘Mail & News’ window, go to the ‘Edit’ menu, choose ‘Mail and Newsgroup Settings’. Click on ‘server settings’. Ensure ‘leave messages on server’ is not ticked (or at least that delete when moved from Inbox is ticked if you keep your inbox small)
Outlook Express / Windows Mail
Go to ‘Tools’, then ‘Accounts’, then select your GreenNet account (often called pop.gn.apc.org). Click the ‘Properties’ button, then choose the ‘Advanced’ tab. Ensure that ‘Leave a copy of messages on server’ is not ticked, or if it is, that ‘remove from server’ is set to a reasonable period.
Eudora 5-7 for Windows
Go to the ‘Tools’ menu, then ‘Options’, then the Incoming Mail icon. Untick ‘leave mail on server’, or set it to delete after (say) 14 days.
Apple Mail (Mac OS X)
Open Mail. Go to the ‘Mail’ menu, then ‘Preferences’, then choose ‘Accounts’ along the top bar. Choose your GreenNet account, and then click the ‘Advanced’ tab. Make sure ‘Remove copy from server after retrieving a message’ is ticked. Either set the drop down box to ‘Right Away’ or to say ‘After one week’.
Apple Mail POP: remove messages after one week
Entourage for Mac
Open Entourage. Go to the ‘Tools’ menu, then choose ‘Accounts’. Click on the Mail tab. Double-click on your mail account in the Accounts list.
Click on the Options tab. Untick the box to the left of “Leave a copy of each message on the server”, or make sure that you have “delete messages from server” after (at most) 14 days. Untick the box to the left of “Partially receive messages”, or if you really need this, confirm that you want to delete messages from the server when you have downloaded them.
Click the OK button.
Eudora 3 for Mac
Go to the ‘Special’ menu, then ‘Settings’, then the Checking Mail icon. Ensure ‘Leave on server for … days’ is not ticked, or at least a non-zero number is entered.
Mail servers such as VPOP3
Microsoft SBS Exchange 2000 server officially doesn’t support leaving messages on the server in the POP3 connector – and if you already have Exchange and a static IP you could set up a webmail system for archiving (which in the open source world could be done with SquirrelMail and Postfix/Exim).
In the VPOP3 mail server, 5 days is quite common, but there are many large messages for multiple workers, this may be too much. The setting can be altered under VPOP3 > External Mail > In Mail > Incoming POP3 settings > Leave Messages on Server. If you are using download rules, you should also check Utilities > Misc Settings > Basic Tweaks > Query Download Delay.
21 August 2004 - 9:28pm — Anonymous
Re: Full mailboxes
Followed the instructions as above for outlook express but still get the message that my mail box is nearing capacity...Also, have tried deleting all sent messages, but that doesn't work either....Any help would be appreciated. thank you
23 August 2004 - 11:03am — Support (GreenNet)
Re: Full mailboxes
As always, your GreenNet email address or user id would be helpful, as would the message you are receiving.
It is sometimes the case that email programs (particularly Eudora) continue to leave large emails on the server when the option to do so has been turned off. In that case either delete them using webmail, or let us know your address so we can try jiggling the mailbox. (In Eudora this is usually because of the LMOS.DAT file, see http://eudora.com/techsupport/kb/1598hq.html.)
7 April 2005 - 10:40pm — Anonymous
Re: Full mailboxes
Thanks for the tip. I'm having problems with my (http://www.workwanted.ca) and (http://www.linuxguru.ca) domains with this message:
Apr 7 16:15:10 inquisitive postfix/local[4562]: 89EF1B7A4A: to=, relay=local, delay=0, status=bounced (can't create user output file. Command output: procmail: Error while writing to "/var/spool/mail/simon" )
I've had the permissions set all over the place, but it didn't dawn on me to check the capacity of the file. I'll be deleting it now for sure.
24 May 2005 - 4:17pm — Support (GreenNet)
Re: Full mailboxes
Instructions for Entourage for Mac
Open Entourage.
Go to the Tools menu, then choose Accounts.
Click on the Mail tab.
Double-click on your mail account in the Accounts list.
Click on the Options tab.
Untick the box to the left of "Leave a copy of each message on the server", or make sure that you have "delete messages from server" after (at most) 14 days.
Untick the box to the left of "Partially receive messages", or if you really need this, confirm that you want to delete messages from the server when you have downloaded them.
Click the OK button.