Increasingly, users want to send and receive mail from multiple computers and locations, as well as access and manipulate their stored messages and mail folders. They also want to use the universal web browser for their access rather than location-dependent and proprietary mail programs. NCSU uses the POP3 protocol to allow a client computer to retrieve electronic mail from a POP server. POP works well with a file system like AFS, where messages are downloaded and stored in the user's home directory. However, anything stored in your home directory, such as mail folders, are not available from other computers, networks, or mail programs.
POP works best if the user stores messages in one place only and uses one mail program.
Because IMAP is completely incompatible with POP, it has caused problems for users who have not fully understood what a move to IMAP entails. However, if you are on POP and want to read mail in the NT labs, select the login.ncsu.edu icon in the NAL Application Launcher, log in, and use a command-line program like elm . Mail Forwarding Many users have mail accounts through AOL, HotMail, and others. However, remember that you will be on campus for a long time, and you may wish to consider the benefits of a free and long-term campus mail account. Write to this same address to turn off mail forwarding.