Re: Automatically checking mail

[Daniel Eisenbud <eisenbud@condor.sccs.swarthmore.edu>]

On Tue, 25 Jul 1995 15:31:06 -0600  Rodger Anderson wrote:
> I've been using zsh MAILPATH to check various files for quite some
> time now, and have had no problems with it.  Here is the relevant
> portion of my .zprofile file:
> 
> # How often to check for mail, and where to check.
> MAIL=$HOME/Mail/inbox/mbox
> MAILCHECK=120
> MAILPATH="$MAIL?You have new mail"
> MAILPATH="$MAILPATH:/usr/mail/?Someone has mail in /usr/mail/"
> MAILPATH="$MAILPATH:$HOME/dead.letter?You have a dead letter"
> MAILPATH="$MAILPATH:/tmp/post.messages?You have a post note"
> 
Hmmm...  this works.  I think I've found a bug in 2.5.03, actually: if
the first element in the MAILPATH is a directory, mailchecking doesn't
work.  With the following, I'm never notified of any mail in my MH
folders:

condor,18:34,500% set | grep MAIL                                           [~]
MAIL=/home/eisenbud/.mail
MAILCALL=NEW MAIL!
MAILCHECK=10
MAILPATH=/home/eisenbud/MH/inbox?You have new mail in $_.:/home/eisenbud/MH/staf
f?You have new mail in $_.:/home/eisenbud/MH/postmaster?You have new mail in $_.
:/home/eisenbud/MH/bugtraq?You have new mail in $_.

But with the following (.mail is a file, the rest are directories) it
does work.  The only thing that's been changed is the MAILPATH, and
there's never any mail going to .mail.  Kinda weird.  It seems very
reproducible.

condor,18:34,502% set | grep MAIL                                           [~]
MAIL=/home/eisenbud/.mail
MAILCALL=NEW MAIL!
MAILCHECK=10
MAILPATH=/home/eisenbud/.mail?You have new mail in $_.:/home/eisenbud/MH/inbox?Y
ou have new mail in $_.:/home/eisenbud/MH/staff?You have new mail in $_.:/home/e
isenbud/MH/postmaster?You have new mail in $_.:/home/eisenbud/MH/bugtraq?You hav
e new mail in $_.

-Dan Eisenbud