shared/public mailbox application

Michael Fox
Thu, 24 Nov 2016 19:53:25 -0000

I'm new to Dovecot and I need help configuring a shared or public mailbox -
I'm not sure which is appropriate.  I've read the wiki and Peer's
book and
neither appears to cover what I'd like to do.  So I could use some specific
help on how to configure a solution for the following:



I'd like to create two real mailboxes, let's call them AAA and BBB.
Let's
call the domain "mydomain".

Anyone user can send mail to them, just like any other address:
aaa at mydomain or bbb at mydomain.

I'd like all IMAP users in mydomain to be able to read the messages in those
mailboxes.

I'd like all POP users in mydomain to also see those messages.  (But I
don't
think I need help with the virtual part).

I'd like only a few designated IMAP users to be able to delete the messages
in those mailboxes, including dummy users AAA and BBB themselves.

Ideally, I'd like them to appear in the client under a separate namespace
from shared mailboxes.  Example:



INBOX

+--- the normal stuff.

Shared

+--- user1

+--- user2

Special

+--- AAA

+--- BBB



My confusion:

1)      I don't know if this requires a shared namespace or a public
namespace.  It "feels" like it's "public", since all
users would have
access.  But Peer's book and the wiki describe manually creating folders for
public namespaces and controlling the contents with manual file
manipulation, which leads me to believe that they can't be used for regular
mail (although the book and the wiki never say one way or the other).   I
don't want to manually control files.  I want to send mail to the mailbox
and delete (see above) it with a client.

2)      There are several examples in Peer's book and the wiki, but none
seem to match what I want.  (This is the problem with documentation that is
predominantly example-based).  I guess I need more explanation of the
mechanical differences between shared and public and why one would pick one
over the other.



Can someone help?  Please be as specific as you can.



Thanks much,

Michael