Advice on using IMAP email instead of POP

[FOOOD 0]

I'm wanting some advice using email through IMAP. I've searched on Google but would like 'real people's' advice & opinions before I switch over all my email accounts from POP.

 

I've been using my email through POP forever & didn't have a clue what IMAP was.

 

 

I receive/send emails on my mac, desktop PC & laptop & the way I have it set up & synched at the moment is like this:

 

The 3 computers are networked (laptop wirelessly)

I use Thunderbird on all 3 computers. The mail folders are stored on the mac.

And the desktop PC & laptop mail folders both point to the one on the mac, so whichever computer I use the emails are up to date.

I like the fact that I can send & receive email on any on the computers, but Thunderbird doesn't always behave itself so I'm looking other ways of setting it all up.

 

I thought if I used IMAP I could use whatever email app I want on any computer? (so long as the app supports IMAP).

 

Are there any plus points & minus points of using IMAP over POP, or POP over IMAP?

 

I set up a test IMAP email account the way I usually set up POP account (apart from selecting IMAP as the account type) & it seems to work fine.

Is there any thing I should do differently setting up IMAP accounts?

 

As I understand it the emails are stored on the server rather my computer. So if I drag an email to the IMAP trash folder it stays on the server. And if I empty the trash folder they are deleted from the server for good right?

 

And if I wanted to keep an email/back it up I could drag it to a mail folder located on my computer, is that right?

 

Or is there another way of sending/receiving emails over my computers that would be better than POP or IMAP?

[GTwannabe 0]

IMAP is good if you have a lot of server space and need access to your mail on multiple machines.

 

POP is good if you have little server space and connect to the server via a slow line.

 

I personally find the delete scheme used by IMAP very annoying.

[FOOOD 0]

Thanks for your reply.

 

Server space isn't really a problem.

 

What do you mean about the IMAP delete scheme? (Sorry I know nothing about IMAP)