[Carlos E. R.]
I tried mutt. No go. Not user friendly. Pine you can learn as you go. Mutt neads reading a manual. My saying: "good user's programs (GUI or TUI) do not require reading a manual before using them".
I quite understand the desire (or dream) that UI design replace the need of reading traditional documentation. Pushed to its extreme, some will even prefer Microsoft Windows to SuSE Linux! :-) However, in my relatively long experience with computers, and despite there are exceptions, UI only programs (those not needing manuals) have a lot of chrome over pretty weak engines, and if there is no manual, this is only because there is not much to say. For me, a "good program" on the user standpoint is one that represent an opening on a field of activity (or a field of science, if you are so-inclined), that is, something that you may start with and that will be with you for quite a while, along your journey of discovery. A program who superficially appears to be good because users have the feeling they learned it quickly (often because there is nothing to learn), represent more a closing than an opening. They define a short-term horizon in which the user, knowingly or not, will be held captive for years. These should be the ones making you say "No go", because deep down, they do not lead you anywhere far from where you already are. For one, I'm ready to read and even scrutinize manuals, lots of them. It is really, _really_ worth the effort. Many programs I find on the SuSE distributions (and elsewhere) are wonders, which I would not be able to appreciate without their documentation. For example, one may use Emacs or Vim as editors, or Gimp or Blender for graphical work say, without ever reading any manual about them, but they then miss big. It's true I'm irritated that Mutt does not give me scroll bars and does not obey to the mouse wheel. But it has many other virtues, and has been _so_ useful to me, that I'm ready to suffer the irritation. Dropping Mutt, seduced by some half-empty chrome, would not be wise. It would be a bit like, for a men, sacrificing a family and a life, for a 2-weeks superficial affair with a temporarily attractive women :-). -- François Pinard http://pinard.progiciels-bpi.ca