User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1.6) Gecko/20070725 Firefox/2.0.0.6 Build Identifier: version 3.0a1pre (2007090804) I have two Thunderbird installations - one on a Mac laptop and one on a Windows desktop. They both subscribe to the same IMAP account on a Cyrus 2.2 IMAPD server. If I subscribe to a folder on the desktop, the laptop doesn't automatically subscribe - good. But if I do try to subscribe to it on the laptop, the "Subscribe" dialog shows it as already subscribed. I have to actually unsubscribe, refresh the display, and resubscribe to get it to show on the laptop. I imagine 3 clients would be even worse, as would trying to subscribe to folders on one computer but not another. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Add the same IMAP account on client #1 and #2. 2. Create a folder "TB Test" on client #1. You will be automatically subscribed. 3. Notice that client #2 does not see the folder yet in the left-hand pane. 4. Right-click the IMAP account and select "Subscribe..." on client #2. Actual Results: The box for "TB Test" is already checked on client #2, but the folder is not actually subscribed. You have to uncheck it, hit OK, relaunch the Subscribe dialog and check it again to get it subscribed on #2. Expected Results: Alternative 1 (preferred): Thunderbird would keep a local list of subscribed folders, above and beyond the LSUB list, so each client could subscribe and unsubscribe independently. TB would never UNSUBSCRIBE a folder, since another client might be subscribing. Alternative 2: If "differing multi-client subscriptions" is not supported, TB should auto-detect newly subscribed folders on the server and display them in the folder list without intervention. Alternative 3: At the very least, it should do a sanity check when opening or closing the "Subscribe" dialog and, at that point, update its local folder list.

I cannot reproduce the problem as stated. When I open Thunderbird on the second machine, the folder list, including subscriptions, is updated. If I already have Thunderbird open, it does not immediately detect folder or subscription changes made from the other machine. But, if I collapse and re-expand the folders, they are updated.

Ah, okay.. I never-ever collapse folders. It's a little counter-intuitive, since if you follow the steps exactly as stated, it appears that you have to re-subscribe to a folder that you're already subscribed to. Collapsing and expanding folders is a great workaround, but that's inconsistent with the general UI, where most updates happen automagically, and at worst, "Get Mail" is the rough equivalent of Firefox's "Refresh". Note that quitting and restarting the app still doesn't refresh the folder list, at least on the Mac version; you HAVE to collapse and expand the twistie (er, I mean, disclosure triangle).

(In reply to comment #2) > Ah, okay.. I never-ever collapse folders. > > It's a little counter-intuitive, since if you follow the steps exactly as > stated, it appears that you have to re-subscribe to a folder that you're > already subscribed to. Collapsing and expanding folders is a great workaround, > but that's inconsistent with the general UI, where most updates happen > automagically, and at worst, "Get Mail" is the rough equivalent of Firefox's > "Refresh". > I think the problem is that IMAP does not provide a way for the server to notify the client of folder creation/deletion. Because it is rare for a user to create folders from one client while the other is open, the developers probably felt that checking at start-up was sufficient. > Note that quitting and restarting the app still doesn't refresh the folder > list, at least on the Mac version; you HAVE to collapse and expand the twistie > (er, I mean, disclosure triangle). That sounds like an actual bug, because the folder list /is/ refreshed on Linux and Windows when Thunderbird connects to the server.

Need test Mac version, I didn't see problem in Windows, Linux too.

IMAP subscriptions are intended to be shared across profiles - that's the whole point of IMAP, to have state that you share across machines. This bug as filed is invalid, though there may be issues about keeping subscriptions consistent across machines w/o restarts (though collapse+expanding the server in the folder pane refreshes the folder list). There are other bugs open on that. I suspect Jay has IMAP subscription turned off on his Mac profile - just a guess...

David - I'm not sure if you mean there's some "IMAP subscription" flag set somewhere in the profile? To clarify my setup: I have three IMAP clients - desktop Mac, laptop Mac, and an iPhone. (Both Macs run Thunderbird, with what should be fairly similar profiles.) I run a Dovecot 1.1 IMAP server, of which I'm the only user. Personally, I think non-shared subscriptions would be useful; to me, the whole point of IMAP is that you share the state of *messages* across machines (read/unread), but not necessarily that you share the list of folders you're subscribing to. I might have a folder for "family", and another for "mailing lists". When I'm at home, I want to see both folders. But when I'm at work, I might want to be responsive to my family while ignoring mailing lists. The user story for "different subscriptions on different computers" is identical to that for "different accounts on different computers". But if that's not supported, and occasional polling of the subscription list isn't supported either, then a quit/restart should certainly refresh the list. I never would have expected collapse+expand to be more thorough than quit/restart. Do you happen to know the other bugs so I can add myself? At the moment, trying to search for a Thunderbird IMAP bug is just like.. like... well, it's hard.

yes, under account settings, server settings, advanced, there's a "show only subscribed folders" checkbox. I'm not sure what your settings are, so I'm not sure what the relevant bugs are. I'm not sure if there are still open bugs on not refreshing in 3.0 b3pre builds either...

there's a tracking bug for handling subscription issues - Bug 201332