Commercial for MH

[mo%lbl-csam at sri-unix.UUCP]

The latest version of UCB Mail has a folder syntax taken straight
from MH, which makes it MUCH more useful.  It also has some
primitive header-filtering features, but for my money, and I
also process LOTS of mail, I could not do without MH.
Sounds like Mike's version of MSG is a pretty spiffy version,
but I simply cannot tolerate the Tenex-inspired leaps-out-from-under-your-
fingertips interface.  This is a purely religious issue. 
I also find quite useful the notion that mail can be processed from
whereever I happen to be in the filesystem when something important arrives.
Granted, storing each message in one file
is a trifle wasteful of inodes, but disk storage is cheap and
this is a research machine (for machines with students, the folder
stuff of UCB Mail is almost as good with only one inode per folder).
MH uses the filesystem to store messages with directories implementing
folders.  This allows messages to be linked into more than one folder
for cross-filing purposes, and recursive folders.  As was mentioned,
MH knows about your message filecabinet no matter what your current
directory.  Moreover, MH doesn't have a separate command processor!!!
This is WONDERFUL.  I don't have to get into a funny program to
read mail, clean up my mess, and get back out.  I can "inc" new mail
into my inbox any time I want, read or simply scan a few messages,
refile them, etc, without breaking stride doing something else.
The notion that a mail system doesn't need a special command processor
(the shell is a perfectly good command language, thank you.) is
is greatest contribution, outside of folders.
You can also process messages with normal Unix text manipulation commands for
the odd job, without cracking some funny message format.

Anyway, as you can see, I am a real MH fan.  There is a screen-oriented
interface called HM which Jim Guyton at Rand developed, and 
John Foderaro at UCB has created a version of Rmail for Goslings
Emacs which uses MH as the storage subsystem.  So, you can have
screen hacks too.  For the person who processes LOTS of mail
on LOTS of different subjects, MH is a godsend.  There may be
better systems, and there may be systems any one person might
like better, but moving from UCB Mail to MH was an improvement of the same 
order of magnitude as moving from ed to vi.

Finally, I believe that MH will be included in the 4.2 system when
it is released, but someone from Rand should comment on this. 

	-Mike