I recently joined a mailing list which has fifty messages a day at times,
which overpowers my normal email by about forty a day so I need for the
first time to tweak Thunderbird on Windows to help me deal with it.

One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).

With or without that, I find I'm forced to sort by thread and then sort by
date (as I want to read it FIFO but you can't seem to sort both by subjmect
and reverse date in Thunderbird - can you?).

How do you handle voluminous mailing lists in Thunderbird?

Oliver wrote:

> One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
> email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).

If you can find a header field (or combination of fields) that
distinguish the mailing list messages, then you can write a message
filter rule to move them.

> With or without that, I find I'm forced to sort by thread and then sort by
> date (as I want to read it FIFO but you can't seem to sort both by subjmect
> and reverse date in Thunderbird - can you?).

No, you can only sort by a single attribute.

> How do you handle voluminous mailing lists in Thunderbird?

I only belong to straggly low volume lists.

On 3/24/24 03:44 PM, Oliver wrote:
> I recently joined a mailing list which has fifty messages a day at times,
> which overpowers my normal email by about forty a day so I need for the
> first time to tweak Thunderbird on Windows to help me deal with it.
>
> One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
> email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).
>
> With or without that, I find I'm forced to sort by thread and then sort by
> date (as I want to read it FIFO but you can't seem to sort both by subjmect
> and reverse date in Thunderbird - can you?).
>
> How do you handle voluminous mailing lists in Thunderbird?

My news is sorted by 'order recieved' (a field I added to the header view), and threads set to
'threaded and unread'.
The threading keeps them grouped and the unread hides the threads that have been read.

For me this is great. I only see threads that have new messages, and TB shows me the full thread be
it 1 or 100 messages. The 100 is a bit ugly, like where is that new message? I customized the
toolbar to add 'view next unread' icon/button. I can click that to jump down to that one new
message.

Solves my large volume posting to many items.

As Andy said, I think just finding something in the header like a domain or such and use that to
make a filter and move the message to a folder. My wife is the holder of out Xfinity ISP account,
and they send here ads and notices of all sorts quite often. I wrote a filter to mark them read,
forward to me, and then delete. She never sees them, I do.
--
Linux Mint 21.3 Cinnamon 6.0.4 Kernel 6.5.0-26-generic
Al

On 3/24/2024 3:44 PM, Oliver wrote:
> I recently joined a mailing list which has fifty messages a day at times,
> which overpowers my normal email by about forty a day so I need for the
> first time to tweak Thunderbird on Windows to help me deal with it.
>
> One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
> email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).
>
> With or without that, I find I'm forced to sort by thread and then sort by
> date (as I want to read it FIFO but you can't seem to sort both by subjmect
> and reverse date in Thunderbird - can you?).
>
> How do you handle voluminous mailing lists in Thunderbird?

I suggest using Excel when the list gets too big.
One column for name and one for email and one column for each particular
set desired and concatenate so can copy bottom of list into email TO:

Then copy and paste into TO:

On 3/24/2024 12:57 PM, Andy Burns wrote:
> Oliver wrote:
>
>> One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
>> email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).
>
> If you can find a header field (or combination of fields) that
> distinguish the mailing list messages, then you can write a message
> filter rule to move them.
>
>> With or without that, I find I'm forced to sort by thread and then sort by
>> date (as I want to read it FIFO but you can't seem to sort both by subjmect
>> and reverse date in Thunderbird - can you?).
>
> No, you can only sort by a single attribute.
>
>> How do you handle voluminous mailing lists in Thunderbird?
>
> I only belong to straggly low volume lists.

You can filter by more than one attribute, effectively "and" between
them. You merely select the radio button for "Match all of the
following". Alternatively, you can create multiple filters, effectively
"or" between them.

However, what Oliver wants is a single filter plus selecting the Date
bar above the thread pane. Selecting the Date bar sorts the message by
date. Click it to get a particular sort order; click it again to
reverse that order.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Demonstrators worldwide are demanding that Israel stop
fighting in Gaza. Why does it seem that no one is demanding
that Hamas stop fighting? And where are the demonstrations
against Russia fighting in the Ukraine.

On 03/24/2024 5:12 PM, David E. Ross wrote:
> On 3/24/2024 12:57 PM, Andy Burns wrote:
>> Oliver wrote:
>>
>>> One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
>>> email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).
>>
>> If you can find a header field (or combination of fields) that
>> distinguish the mailing list messages, then you can write a message
>> filter rule to move them.
>>
>>> With or without that, I find I'm forced to sort by thread and then sort by
>>> date (as I want to read it FIFO but you can't seem to sort both by subjmect
>>> and reverse date in Thunderbird - can you?).
>>
>> No, you can only sort by a single attribute.
>>
>>> How do you handle voluminous mailing lists in Thunderbird?
>>
>> I only belong to straggly low volume lists.
>
> You can filter by more than one attribute, effectively "and" between
> them. You merely select the radio button for "Match all of the
> following". Alternatively, you can create multiple filters, effectively
> "or" between them.
>
> However, what Oliver wants is a single filter plus selecting the Date
> bar above the thread pane. Selecting the Date bar sorts the message by
> date. Click it to get a particular sort order; click it again to
> reverse that order.
>
As stated you can filter by multiple attributes from a list of about 20.
One is age in days. You then have three pairs of options, as to what
to do when the condition is met. You then have many options for
disposition of the item the was caught in the filer.

From what you said you could add a star to messages the met your criteria.

OR set up a series of tags for the message groups, and filter and add
add different tags for different filter criteria.

My suggestion would be play with the filter options until you get what
you want

On 3/24/24 14:57, Andy Burns wrote:
> ... you can only sort by a single attribute.

On 3/24/24 16:12, David E. Ross wrote:
> You can filter ....

filtering != sorting

Oliver, as others have indicated, you want to filter based on a header
if at all possible. Most reputable mailing list software make this easy
to do. You will almost certainly find a header and / or subject tag and
/ or footer that can make it easy to identify the messages from the
mailing list. You might even be able to sort on messages that have the
mailing list address in the To: or CC: header.

--
Grant. . . .

On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 19:30:06 -0500, Grant Taylor
<gtaylor@tnetconsulting.net> wrote

> Oliver, as others have indicated, you want to filter based on a header
> if at all possible. Most reputable mailing list software make this easy
> to do. You will almost certainly find a header and / or subject tag and
> / or footer that can make it easy to identify the messages from the
> mailing list. You might even be able to sort on messages that have the
> mailing list address in the To: or CC: header.

Thanks for that advice.

Just so you know, every email has a subject line beginning with either
[GROUPNAME] and then the users' subject line
or
Re: [GROUPNAME] and then the users' subject line

Also every "TO:" seems to always be the same:
To: main@GROUPNAME.groups.io

In addition there is a footer inside each email body starting with
Groups.io Links:
You receive all messages sent to this group.

On 2024-03-24 20:44, Oliver wrote:
> I recently joined a mailing list which has fifty messages a day at times,
> which overpowers my normal email by about forty a day so I need for the
> first time to tweak Thunderbird on Windows to help me deal with it.
>
> One option is to have Thunderbird somehow (if it can) put all the incoming
> email from the mailing list to a folder automatically (is that possible?).

Certainly.

Proper mail lists will have an identifying header; so the first step is
to pick one such email and display source (ctrl-U). You will see a
section like this:

List-Id: FFmpeg user questions <ffmpeg-user.ffmpeg.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://ffmpeg.org/mailman/options/ffmpeg-user>,
<mailto:ffmpeg-user-request@ffmpeg.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <https://ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user>
List-Post: <mailto:ffmpeg-user@ffmpeg.org>
List-Help: <mailto:ffmpeg-user-request@ffmpeg.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user>,
<mailto:ffmpeg-user-request@ffmpeg.org?subject=subscribe>

The one you want now is "List-Id".

So next step is the menu Tools/Message filters (do this with your inbox
highlighted). Making sure that the first line says "filters for:" and
points to your inbox. Click on new. Name the filter, any name you want.

On the "match on the following" section, select "List-Id".

If List-Id is not in the drop list, add it: go to the bottom of the drop
list, and click on "Customize", then enter "List-Id" in the "New message
header" box. Then select "Contains" and paste the identifier, in this
example "<ffmpeg-user.ffmpeg.org>" (ignore the part outside of the
brackets, that could change on a whim of the list administrator; the
section in brackets will never change).

Some lists may have a different header; in that case, use whatever you get.

Then on the "Perform these actions" box, select "move message to" and
then choose the folder you want, which can be remote, on your provider
IMAP server, or local to your computer. You have to create that folder
in advance, before creating the filter in order to select it.

Click OK, then check that the "run selected filters" entry points to the
inbox, then click "run now". The existing messages should move
automatically as you ordered. The filter will run automatically on email
as it arrives, if TB is running.

Warning: filters are written to disk when you close the dialog. If TB
crashes, your work is lost.

As to the sorting, I leave that to others :-)

Warning: sometimes people in mail lists may answer to the mail list
and/or to you directly. So you may notice that the direct email to you
is not moved to the folder, because strictly speaking they were sent
OFF-LIST.

I have not contemplated handling them because it depends on what you
want to do with them, but it is possible to modify the filter to include
them. The handling depends on the particular mail list you subscribed to.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On 03/24/2024 8:30 PM, Grant Taylor wrote:
> On 3/24/24 14:57, Andy Burns wrote:
>> ... you can only sort by a single attribute.
>
> On 3/24/24 16:12, David E. Ross wrote:
>> You can filter ....
>
> filtering != sorting
>
> Oliver, as others have indicated, you want to filter based on a header
> if at all possible.  Most reputable mailing list software make this easy
> to do.  You will almost certainly find a header and / or subject tag and
> / or footer that can make it easy to identify the messages from the
> mailing list.  You might even be able to sort on messages that have the
> mailing list address in the To: or CC: header.
>
>
>
This is an option of Thunderbird, just click the column heading.

On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 14:12:34 -0700, "David E. Ross"
<nobody@nowhere.invalid> wrote

> You can filter by more than one attribute, effectively "and" between
> them. You merely select the radio button for "Match all of the
> following". Alternatively, you can create multiple filters, effectively
> "or" between them.

One major question remains which is will the filter REMOVE the email from
the Google IMAP inbox (which is what I want it to do) when I have it go to
local folders as shown below?

Here's the new filter (which I suspect I will hone further over time).
https://i.postimg.cc/Twfw8x6K/Clipboard01.jpg

It was set to
[x] Manually Run
[x] Getting New Mail [Filter before Junk Classification]
[x] Archiving
[x] After Sending
[x] Periodically, every 10 minutes

1. I had to create a "Local Folder" first
Local Folder = [GROUPtalk]
2. Then I created a filter using the following sequence for others.
TB: Tools > Message Filters > New
3. Match Any of the Following
4. From is main@GROUPtalk.groups.io
5. Subject begins with [GROUPtalk]
6. Subject beings with Re:[GROUPtalk]
7. Body contains https://groups.io/g/GROUPtalk/wiki/GROUPtalk-FAQ
8. Move Message to > Local Folder > [GROUPtalk] on Local Folders

I haven't run it yet but how does that look for a typical GROUP filter?

On 3/25/2024 1:09 PM, Oliver wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 14:12:34 -0700, "David E. Ross"
> <nobody@nowhere.invalid> wrote
>
>> You can filter by more than one attribute, effectively "and" between
>> them. You merely select the radio button for "Match all of the
>> following". Alternatively, you can create multiple filters, effectively
>> "or" between them.
>
> One major question remains which is will the filter REMOVE the email from
> the Google IMAP inbox (which is what I want it to do) when I have it go to
> local folders as shown below?
>
> Here's the new filter (which I suspect I will hone further over time).
> https://i.postimg.cc/Twfw8x6K/Clipboard01.jpg
>
> It was set to
> [x] Manually Run
> [x] Getting New Mail [Filter before Junk Classification]
> [x] Archiving
> [x] After Sending
> [x] Periodically, every 10 minutes
>
> 1. I had to create a "Local Folder" first
> Local Folder = [GROUPtalk]
> 2. Then I created a filter using the following sequence for others.
> TB: Tools > Message Filters > New
> 3. Match Any of the Following
> 4. From is main@GROUPtalk.groups.io
> 5. Subject begins with [GROUPtalk]
> 6. Subject beings with Re:[GROUPtalk]
> 7. Body contains https://groups.io/g/GROUPtalk/wiki/GROUPtalk-FAQ
> 8. Move Message to > Local Folder > [GROUPtalk] on Local Folders
>
> I haven't run it yet but how does that look for a typical GROUP filter?
>

Having never used IMAP -- always downloading E-mail using POP3 -- I
cannot help you with this.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Demonstrators worldwide are demanding that Israel stop
fighting in Gaza. Why does it seem that no one is demanding
that Hamas stop fighting? And where are the demonstrations
against Russia fighting in the Ukraine.

On 3/25/24 15:09, Oliver wrote:
> One major question remains which is will the filter REMOVE the email from
> the Google IMAP inbox (which is what I want it to do) when I have it go
> to local folders as shown below?

I don't know for sure.

Test it and see if it does what you want.

I think it will also depend what is done with the message in Gmail.

Remember that Gmail's IMAP is a gateway from IMAP into Gmail and that
the concepts for the two different in various ways.

Germane to this discussion is that Gmail doesn't have folders as we know
them in non-Gmail email. Rather folders are tags / labels of sorts
inside of Gmail.

So removing a message from an IMAP folder will make that message not
show up in that ""folder in the Gmail web interface. However there is a
good chance that the message may still exist with other tags / labels
inside of Gmail.

I suspect that if there are any other tags / labels on the message, then
the message may very well be retained and accessible via those tags /
labels.

But don't take my word for it. Try it with a test message and see what
happens.

--
Grant. . . .

On 2024-03-25 21:09, Oliver wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 14:12:34 -0700, "David E. Ross"
> <nobody@nowhere.invalid> wrote
>> You can filter by more than one attribute, effectively "and" between
>> them.  You merely select the radio button for "Match all of the
>> following".  Alternatively, you can create multiple filters, effectively
>> "or" between them.
>
> One major question remains which is will the filter REMOVE the email from
> the Google IMAP inbox (which is what I want it to do) when I have it go
> to local folders as shown below?

Dunno. Gmail is peculiar.

>
> Here's the new filter (which I suspect I will hone further over time).
> https://i.postimg.cc/Twfw8x6K/Clipboard01.jpg
>
> It was set to [x] Manually Run
> [x] Getting New Mail [Filter before Junk Classification]
> [x] Archiving
> [x] After Sending
> [x] Periodically, every 10 minutes

[ ] Archiving
[?] After Sending
[ ] Periodically, every 10 minutes

>
> 1. I had to create a "Local Folder" first
>   Local Folder = [GROUPtalk]
> 2. Then I created a filter using the following sequence for others.
>   TB: Tools > Message Filters > New
> 3. Match Any of the Following
> 4. From is main@GROUPtalk.groups.io
> 5. Subject begins with [GROUPtalk]
> 6. Subject beings with Re:[GROUPtalk]
> 7. Body contains https://groups.io/g/GROUPtalk/wiki/GROUPtalk-FAQ
> 8. Move Message to > Local Folder > [GROUPtalk] on Local Folders
>
> I haven't run it yet but how does that look for a typical GROUP filter?

Too complicated.

--
Cheers, Carlos.

On Mon, 25 Mar 2024 20:52:04 -0500, Grant Taylor
<gtaylor@tnetconsulting.net> wrote:

>On 3/25/24 15:09, Oliver wrote:
>> One major question remains which is will the filter REMOVE the email from
>> the Google IMAP inbox (which is what I want it to do) when I have it go
>> to local folders as shown below?
>
>I don't know for sure.
>
>Test it and see if it does what you want.
>
>I think it will also depend what is done with the message in Gmail.
>
>Remember that Gmail's IMAP is a gateway from IMAP into Gmail and that
>the concepts for the two different in various ways.
>
>Germane to this discussion is that Gmail doesn't have folders as we know
>them in non-Gmail email. Rather folders are tags / labels of sorts
>inside of Gmail.
>
>So removing a message from an IMAP folder will make that message not
>show up in that ""folder in the Gmail web interface. However there is a
>good chance that the message may still exist with other tags / labels
>inside of Gmail.

In my experience (but not specifically with this *list* discussion),
Gmail retains its hold with the *All Mail* label.

As often commented, my ISP's domain email is powered by Gmail. Using
the web interface, I have the *All Mail* label instructed to appear as
a folder in the account in T'bird... and have to go occasionally into
that to clear out unwanted material.

That's in addition to Gmail's practice of holding deleted items for 30
days before they disappear.