dovecot - Jan 2010 - shared namespaces with common prefix prefix

Can shared/public namespaces' prefixes have a common prefix? :)

namespace public {
  separator = /
  prefix = zz/shared/
  location = maildir:/var/maildir/shared:INDEX=/var/maildir/%n/shared
  subscriptions = no
}
# to share other employees mailboxes (term'd or admin access)
namespace shared {
  separator = /
  prefix = zz/shared/%%u/
  location = maildir:/var/maildir/%%n:INDEX=/var/maildir/users/%%u
  subscriptions = no
  list = children
}

Since I added the shared namespace, I can no longer access the public
namespace.  The folders show up but then trying to access one gets the
error that the mailbox doesn't exist.

If they can't have a common part of the prefix, is that an IMAP limitation
or could dovecot conceivably handle it?

-frank

On January 14, 2010 2:22:08 PM -0500 Frank Cusack <fcusack at fcusack.com>
wrote:
># to share other employees mailboxes (term'd or admin access)
> namespace shared {
>   separator = /
>   prefix = zz/shared/%%u/
>   location = maildir:/var/maildir/%%n:INDEX=/var/maildir/users/%%u
>   subscriptions = no
>   list = children
> }
In the INDEX, did I really mean to use /var/maildir/%n/users/%%u?
I mean, I think I left out the %n in my configuration.  Using a
global directory seems to defeat the point of the separate INDEX.

-frank

On Thu, 2010-01-14 at 14:22 -0500, Frank Cusack wrote:
> namespace public {
>   separator = /
>   prefix = zz/shared/
> }
> # to share other employees mailboxes (term'd or admin access)
> namespace shared {
>   separator = /
>   prefix = zz/shared/%%u/
> }
> 
> Since I added the shared namespace, I can no longer access the public
> namespace.  The folders show up but then trying to access one gets the
> error that the mailbox doesn't exist.
> 
> If they can't have a common part of the prefix, is that an IMAP
limitation
> or could dovecot conceivably handle it?
The main problem is that Dovecot internally creates zz/shared/ namespace
for listing users. Then it has two namespaces with the same prefix. It
would be possible to create support for some kind of namespace unions,
but there's no such code yet.

Also from IMAP point of view this isn't really supported, because
NAMESPACE reply would show the zz/shared/ as both shared and public
namespace. You'd have to make one of them hidden=yes.

Also with union namespaces name conflicts would be possible. For example
if you have zz/shared/user at domain/ containing the user's mailboxes, but
then someone creates a public zz/shared/user at domain mailbox there's a
conflict..
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