Mark messages on pop3 server as read without downloading them?

[crazychicken]

I check the same pop3 account from several computers, so I leave the "leave messages on server" in the mail client checked, so that when I download the mail on computer A, computer B will also see that there is new mail. The problem is if I get a new computer, or switch clients or something, then there are zillions of messages that get downloaded, fill up the inbox, and then more get downloaded, ad nausium. Is there a way to from a command line say "mark all messages on this server as read" so that they won't get downloaded?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[Nothinman]

Does your server also offer IMAP? That would be the better solution.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't have an exact answer to your question, but I handle that situation by having 1 master computer. I leave the messages on the server for all my secondary computers, then on my main rig, I download and remove the messages. As long as you access your main computer on a regular basis, the volume isn't overwhelming.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Best bet for that situation is setup a central server with fetchmail, have it download mail every 5ish minutes, then either install a web mail client or use imap to access it. The beauty of this setup is if there is problems with the mail server or your internet, you'll have every message right up to the point of the problem. Also makes it easy to backup all your email accounts as they're in one central location.