meillo@0: .H0 "Preface" no
meillo@0: 
meillo@8: .H1 "How the Fun Began" no
meillo@8: .P
meillo@8: I have discovered nmh in XXX. I used to use mutt, like many
meillo@8: command line-attracted Unix users. Nmh had convinced me conceptually
meillo@8: at once. Unfortunately, setting it up to a convenient state became a
meillo@8: tendious task. Learning its different model of email handling had,
meillo@8: in contrast, been relatively easy. Learning to use MH if you are used
meillo@8: to monolithic mail clients is like learning vi if you are used to
meillo@8: modeless editors.
meillo@8: Once having nmh set up, using it was joy because of its conceptional
meillo@8: elegance and scripting capabilities, but on the other hand it was
meillo@8: inconvenient in handling attachments, non-ASCII character encodings,
meillo@8: and similar stuff. I found it wrong to require more and more scripts
meillo@8: and configuration to have it act the expected way. In being a
meillo@8: software developer, I wanted to improve the situation.
meillo@8: .P
meillo@8: In Spring 2010, I asked on the nmh-workers mailing list for the
meillo@8: possibility to have a Google Summer of Code project on nmh. Being a
meillo@8: student, this appeared attractive to me. Eventually, it had not been
meillo@8: possible, but the nmh community started to move. In these months
meillo@8: nmh's future was discussed and I became part of a ``Does nmh need an
meillo@8: MTA'' discussion. There, my opinion differed from the opinion of
meillo@8: most others.
meillo@8: .P
meillo@8: As it hadn't been possible to work on nmh in a way that would be
meillo@8: accepted as part of my official studies, I needed to get my credit
meillo@8: points in some other way. But half a year later I was back. Starting
meillo@8: in Summer 2010, I took one semester off to travel through Latin America.
meillo@8: Within this time, I needed to do practical computer work for three
meillo@8: months. Richard Sandelman, an active nmh user, made it possible for
meillo@8: me to work on nmh during this time. Juan Granda, from Santiago del
meillo@8: Estero in Argentina, provided a computer and Internet connection.
meillo@8: Within these three month, I became familiar with nmh's code base and
meillo@8: its community. I learned how things work. Quickly it was obvious that
meillo@8: I wouldn't succeed to improve on the non-ASCII character encoding
meillo@8: problems, as this is one of the most intricate parts of the system.
meillo@8: Instead I improved code as I read through it. I found minor bugs in
meillo@8: the code and could improve the documentation. When I started with
meillo@8: larger code changes, I had to discover that the community's wish for
meillo@8: compatibility was stronger than its wish for convenient
meillo@8: out-of-the-box setups. This lead to long discussions, again. Finally,
meillo@8: I understand their point of view, but it's not mine.
meillo@8: At the end of my three-month project, I had became familiar with
meillo@8: nmh's code base and community, I had improved both a bit, and I still
meillo@8: was convinced that I wanted to go on with it.
meillo@8: .P
meillo@8: Another half a year later, I needed a topic for my master's thesis.
meillo@8: Now it was clear: I wanted to work on nmh. No, not exactly nmh,
meillo@8: because I had accepted that the nmh community has different goals
meillo@8: than I have. The won't be much progress if generally different opinions
meillo@8: lead to long discussions. After careful thought, I had decided to
meillo@8: start an experimental version of nmh. I wanted to go my way and see
meillo@8: where it would lead to. Time would tell if it would prove successful.
meillo@8: Nmh would hardly be hurt by my work, but could profit from my
meillo@8: experiences later.
meillo@8: .P
meillo@8: When I started to work on mmh, my experimental version, in Fall 2011,
meillo@8: activity in nmh rose suddenly. While I was working on mmh, XXX were
meillo@8: working on nmh. After long years of idleing, nmh was actively
meillo@8: developed again. That was a good sign. My own work went in parallel
meillo@8: and unrelated. Today, my experimental version became de facto a fork.
meillo@8: The mail storage, however, is still compatible.
meillo@8: 
meillo@8: 
meillo@5: .H1 "Naming Conventions" no
meillo@0: .P
meillo@5: There are three different versions of MH available currently: original MH,
meillo@5: nmh, and mmh. Following is a description how the terms are used.
meillo@0: .P
meillo@5: .B MH
meillo@5: (Mail Handler).
meillo@5: Used for any MH-like mail systems, namely the original MH, nmh, and mmh.
meillo@5: .P
meillo@5: .B "Mail client" .
meillo@5: Synonym for MUA. The part of the mail software the user directly
meillo@5: interacts with.
meillo@0: 
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