Post by: RHPConsult on July 24, 2009, 11:55:31 AM
A little tilde-like, sine-wave-like symbol shows immediately to the right of the account name. I assume that means outta luck?
Take Control has no real ideas. Connection Doctor gives strange (.ie. conflicting/inconclusive results) in essence, saying "yes" and "no" about the same accounts in separate parts of the response window.
Huh?
Post by: Xairbusdriver on July 24, 2009, 01:26:06 PM
1. Go to the Comcast site and have all your mail forwarded to a reliable ISP (almost anything other than Comcast). From that point on, the online status of Comcast is moot, you don't really need it any longer.
2. Use that same Mailbox menu and select the option that takes all accounts Off Line. Then immediately select that same item which will now say "Take All Accounts ON line." I must warn you, however, that routine will become old very quickly.
You are, apparently, one of the few not bothered by Comcasts inability to maintain their mail servers in a useful state. Their own forums are clogged with complaints about dropped connections, repeated requests for passwords, etc. Consider yourself lucky.
Post by: RHPConsult on July 24, 2009, 02:03:25 PM
Just spent 90 minutes on the phone with a neat guy (Malcolm - with a soft Mason-Dixon voice and attitude). He walked me through the most complex Accounts > plist > keychain arabesque I have ever experienced. Ultimately resetting the keychain brought everything back . . . but not until the original plist had been restored in MAIL and a whole raft of new ones had been taken out of the Prefs folder. The whole routine was so complex I can't even report it accurately.
We'll see. I sensed, however, I was in the hands of an expert.
Astounding.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on July 24, 2009, 02:24:36 PM
Post by: Mayo on July 24, 2009, 02:31:37 PM
I don't use Comcast and I have had similar problems using Mail with at least two different ISPs. Simple configuration changes in Mail turn out to be not-so-simple after all; recently I had a tech support fellow at my Web hosting company who uses and knows Macs tell me that he has had similar problems using Mail. He advised me that it is usually easier to simply delete all your accounts and start over using the account setup wizard, since the problems seem rooted in Mail's apparent inability to integrate changes made in the Mail accounts preferences. He also told me that he gave up on Mail and now uses Thunderbird and he is very satisfied with it...
Like I noted in another post: making some changes in Eudora takes me a few minutes and I'm Done. Making the same changes in Mail requires a good part of an afternoon and maybe even a tech support call, and I haven't had to make a call like that for other software in a very long time indeed... Life is simply too short to be spent messing around with balky crapware.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on July 24, 2009, 06:25:42 PM
Now, I'm certainly no expert (as is obvious), but I still don't understand what is so difficult about setting up Mail accounts.
They require exactly the same information as Eudora, but certainly in a much less confusing (to me, anyway) assortment of windows and tabs. I can still remember the seemingly hundred item list of places to enter information, not all of which were for email accounts, of course. But even email info was on at least three different 'tabs/windows.' OTOH, it's been several years since I've used Eudora. I suspect that the difficulty is simply in the difference location and display of the information in the two apps. Warning! Rant starting soon!
But I also don't understand why one would need to memorize these locations or even learn them by making changes very often. I thought they were a one time exercise.
The last time I remember changing anything was about a year ago when both Judy was having troubles sending a message to more than ten addresses. Comcast's suggestion was to change the port to 587 (I think). Easily done, but not 100% effective. She still gets occasional error messages (totally useless, I might add) that are usually the result of Comcast randomly picking one day a month when no one can send to more than ten addressees at one time.Last Warning! Rant is just a few words away!This error message is the worst part of Mail, IMHO. Although I'm not sure it's really Mail's fault. We get exactly the same error message when Judy sends more than the daily limit of addressees OR there is a bad address in the To/BCC/CC field. No mention of which one it might be, of course.
And, if it was a multiple group list, no mention of what group, either. The only options on the error message are "Try Again," "Cancel" and "Edit the accounts info." 
The first two options do exactly the same thing, Mail attempts to send the message, with exactly the same error message. The last option is rather lame, since I change the settings only once every year and a half. We had the < ten addressee problem well before Mail, even when we used Eudora. But she then used a 'bulk mailer' program which sent Comcast (and TimeWarner) into screaming fits when the term was mentioned. I suppose all SPAMmers stay in close contact with their ISP and always ask them for support with their bulk mail problems!
I'm not sure who is worse, MS or Comcast. First they drop channels when they swap markets with TimeWarner, then they raise prices, then they drop more channels, then they don't air any of the new local digital stations. And they've already degraded the feeds they get so they can put two or three in each discreet 'channel' they use to send the stuff down the tube. Of course, since you don't have anything to compare it to, the customer usually never sees the loss of clarity. But now that most people can get the local stations off the air in digital form, it is much easier to switch input modes and see the difference. Oops! OTOH, there's no competition, so, what do they care.
Well, I hope you guys, especially Richard are satisfied! I now have my blood pressure to a level that will keep me from wearing my hat and most of my tighter fitting shirts!
I'm gonna' go and watch that joyful wedding video again...
Post by: Mayo on July 24, 2009, 07:02:09 PM
For example, changing existing email account passwords is common and is done for a number of reasons... If an email account password is changed Eudora asks only one time for the new password and That's That.
In my experience Mail will not readily accept new passwords inputed in the account preferences pane. Apple's Keychain simply will not accept the new passwords or Mail does not transfer them to the Keychain, I Know Not Which, but the Keychain insists on providing the old password(s) to Mail. The fix most often proffered on the Apple Mail forum? Delete the affected email passwords from the keychain manually using Keychain Access. It's a bother but doable for the reasonably tech-savvy Mac user, but what about the majority of Mac owners who bought Macs based on their reputation for having a user-friendly interface? They will most likely be stymied and need to call Apple tech support for assistance. How user-friendly is that?
Putting aside email clients and their suitability for average computer owners... When a person needs to configure an email client to access multiple email accounts of varying types and wants to organize their email using filters/rules and multiple mailboxes/folders, Eudora wins hands-down. That is why a lot of us stick with Eudora even though the Mac version hasn't been updated or officially supported for a number of years. The superior utility of Eudora is also the primary reason why a large number of current Eudora users are actively involved in the development of MailForge, a modern replacement for Eudora. The company that is developing MailForge apparently believes that there are enough Eudora users out there who are willing to pay for enhanced email features vs. accepting the limitations of free email programs and Web-based email.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on July 25, 2009, 02:44:47 PM
I've heard and read of the Keychain problem, I'm just not sure it is limited to Mail or there is some other basis for it. The problems I had with Comcast had nothing to do with Keychain, it was affecting Macs/Windows/Linux/Atari and even TRS-80s!
As for adding an account, the simple solution is to simply not do that!
Be happy with what you have and stop being tricked into thinking you need more! 
Post by: RHPConsult on July 25, 2009, 03:36:26 PM
Here’s my summary:
I “lost” access to my Comcast account several/many weeks ago, but paid little attention because it seldom contains any mail of much consequence.
When I started to √√ my settings for all the accounts, Comcast's appeared OK to me. So I called their very polite local tech support center. We are happy campers with Comcast’s cable/phone/internet trifecta . . . really. Mileage does vary.
Comcast’s guy was not a Mac expert, but he had a protocol and everything checked-out as we went down my settings. He told me when he reached his limit of Mac knowledge.
Next call to AppleCare. Luck of the draw got me to" Malcolm". We were on the phone somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes. We also began with the settings. He said they were OK. Then we went to the plist, duly saved it on the DT. No change upon restarting MAIL. Then, we looked (in great detail) at the contents of HOME––>LIBRARY––>MAIL. Whatever messed that folder over (and when) did quite a job . . . there were several dozen items, several nested MAIL folders, not many of which made much sense even to Malcolm, as I described them. Slowly removed them and rebooted MAIL repeatedly. Saved ‘em all in the Archives.
Lastly, went into keychain repair, something I knew/know nothing about. Completed that drill. Then replaced the original .plist back into the folder, commanding replacement of the “newer” item with the “older” and Bingo!, there’s Comcast in all it’s glory (w/178 items mostly duplicate items from the Wall Street Journal).
Why it worked that way really escapes my limited conceptual ability. Where those multi-multi-folders in LIBRARY––>MAIL came from (still stashed) is an equal mystery.
All that’s missing from my collection of filed items in my now well-functioning MAIL app are the “texts” in the winndows in my Drafts Folder, and my Signatures. Probably some greater meaning there, but I didn’t lose any sleep last night over that.
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. AOK along The Bay.
Post by: Xairbusdriver on July 25, 2009, 06:50:05 PM
BTW, I do have you on my list of people who are getting good service from Comcast. Well, I'm not sure you can cal a single entry a "list," but your name is in that column.
Post by: sandbox on July 25, 2009, 11:32:08 PM
This is bothersome. Why Drafts and Signatures would go missing is something I'll need to work on.
QUOTE
All that’s missing from my collection of filed items in my now well-functioning MAIL app are the “texts” in the winndows in my Drafts Folder, and my Signatures. Probably some greater meaning there, but I didn’t lose any sleep last night over that.
QUOTE(RHPConsult @ Jul 25 2009, 04:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I think the best plan for me is just to hold your respective coats . . . well off at the sidelines.
Here’s my summary:
I “lost” access to my Comcast account several/many weeks ago, but paid little attention because it seldom contains any mail of much consequence.
When I started to √√ my settings for all the accounts, Comcast's appeared OK to me. So I called their very polite local tech support center. We are happy campers with Comcast’s cable/phone/internet trifecta . . . really. Mileage does vary.
Comcast’s guy was not a Mac expert, but he had a protocol and everything checked-out as we went down my settings. He told me when he reached his limit of Mac knowledge.
Next call to AppleCare. Luck of the draw got me to" Malcolm". We were on the phone somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes. We also began with the settings. He said they were OK. Then we went to the plist, duly saved it on the DT. No change upon restarting MAIL. Then, we looked (in great detail) at the contents of HOME––>LIBRARY––>MAIL. Whatever messed that folder over (and when) did quite a job . . . there were several dozen items, several nested MAIL folders, not many of which made much sense even to Malcolm, as I described them. Slowly removed them and rebooted MAIL repeatedly. Saved ‘em all in the Archives.
Lastly, went into keychain repair, something I knew/know nothing about. Completed that drill. Then replaced the original .plist back into the folder, commanding replacement of the “newer” item with the “older” and Bingo!, there’s Comcast in all it’s glory (w/178 items mostly duplicate items from the Wall Street Journal).
Why it worked that way really escapes my limited conceptual ability. Where those multi-multi-folders in LIBRARY––>MAIL came from (still stashed) is an equal mystery.
All that’s missing from my collection of filed items in my now well-functioning MAIL app are the “texts” in the winndows in my Drafts Folder, and my Signatures. Probably some greater meaning there, but I didn’t lose any sleep last night over that.
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. AOK along The Bay.
Here’s my summary:
I “lost” access to my Comcast account several/many weeks ago, but paid little attention because it seldom contains any mail of much consequence.
When I started to √√ my settings for all the accounts, Comcast's appeared OK to me. So I called their very polite local tech support center. We are happy campers with Comcast’s cable/phone/internet trifecta . . . really. Mileage does vary.
Comcast’s guy was not a Mac expert, but he had a protocol and everything checked-out as we went down my settings. He told me when he reached his limit of Mac knowledge.
Next call to AppleCare. Luck of the draw got me to" Malcolm". We were on the phone somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes. We also began with the settings. He said they were OK. Then we went to the plist, duly saved it on the DT. No change upon restarting MAIL. Then, we looked (in great detail) at the contents of HOME––>LIBRARY––>MAIL. Whatever messed that folder over (and when) did quite a job . . . there were several dozen items, several nested MAIL folders, not many of which made much sense even to Malcolm, as I described them. Slowly removed them and rebooted MAIL repeatedly. Saved ‘em all in the Archives.
Lastly, went into keychain repair, something I knew/know nothing about. Completed that drill. Then replaced the original .plist back into the folder, commanding replacement of the “newer” item with the “older” and Bingo!, there’s Comcast in all it’s glory (w/178 items mostly duplicate items from the Wall Street Journal).
Why it worked that way really escapes my limited conceptual ability. Where those multi-multi-folders in LIBRARY––>MAIL came from (still stashed) is an equal mystery.
All that’s missing from my collection of filed items in my now well-functioning MAIL app are the “texts” in the winndows in my Drafts Folder, and my Signatures. Probably some greater meaning there, but I didn’t lose any sleep last night over that.
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. AOK along The Bay.