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If I have an IMAP client, I can fetch my emails and download them locally. If the Fastmail CEO sent me an email through Fastmail, with very little technical kn

If I have an IMAP client, I can fetch my emails and download them locally. If the Fastmail CEO sent me an email through Fastmail, with very little technical knowledge, I could set up a regular desktop client to download all those emails locally - headers and all. Even the iPhone default Mail app setup helps you do it. The same is not true of Facebook - those messages belong to Facebook.

juskrey 9y ago
You can but only when you're online. And in general everything can be gamed, including email, given you depend on someone in receiving information. So FastMail's argument is just logically inconsistent. More, an agency problem is here.
- lancewiggs 9y ago
  I have copies of my Fastmail mail on several computers and access the mailboxes when online or offline. It syncs perfectly, is backed up through normal backup techniques and I am in control. There is no mystery here.
  - y4mi 9y ago
    but wouldn't that just depend on your mail client? its technically possible to edit the mail body on the server side and serve the modified message under the same mail ID. I'd wager most clients would invalidate their local copy and trust the new mail from the server, but have to admit that I've never tested such a scenario.
    - Xylakant 9y ago
      iOS and Apple mail don’t. Some servers sometimes have the issue of reusing message identifiers and both clients would show the wrong content for the mail. You’d have to force a resync of the whole Mailbox to fix this. Also: A backup of the mailbox would be unaffected by any server-side change.
    - TheSmiddy 9y ago
      most imap clients wouldn't even notice. Once that message is downloaded there's no reason to download it again.
rovr138 9y ago
IMAP can also send other instructions like Delete. You might want to consider POP3.
- hvidgaard 9y ago
  You can setup most IMAP clients to keep a copy of all messages.
- pleasecalllater 9y ago
  Can, but it doesn't mean that they send. My IMAP accounts keep emails on servers, and in my client.
- epicide 9y ago
  It can't delete an automatic or manual backup I've made of all/some of my email. I think the argument is that you have a way to export and retain emails while there is nothing you can do with messages on FB other than screenshot.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    If the argument is that I can go out of my way to back something up outside of the regular framework of the software, I could do the same by saving messages from Facebook.
    - dx034 9y ago
      Email backups have been standard for decades. There are solution that follow standards and have been tested in audits. Taking screenshots of Facebook messages is very different from that.
      - emodendroket 9y ago
        You could either save the HTML or pretty easily use some JavaScript to extract the message contents to plain text.

juskrey 9y ago

You can but only when you're online. And in general everything can be gamed, including email, given you depend on someone in receiving information. So FastMail's argument is just logically inconsistent. More, an agency problem is here.

lancewiggs 9y ago
I have copies of my Fastmail mail on several computers and access the mailboxes when online or offline. It syncs perfectly, is backed up through normal backup techniques and I am in control. There is no mystery here.
- y4mi 9y ago
  but wouldn't that just depend on your mail client? its technically possible to edit the mail body on the server side and serve the modified message under the same mail ID. I'd wager most clients would invalidate their local copy and trust the new mail from the server, but have to admit that I've never tested such a scenario.
  - Xylakant 9y ago
    iOS and Apple mail don’t. Some servers sometimes have the issue of reusing message identifiers and both clients would show the wrong content for the mail. You’d have to force a resync of the whole Mailbox to fix this. Also: A backup of the mailbox would be unaffected by any server-side change.
  - TheSmiddy 9y ago
    most imap clients wouldn't even notice. Once that message is downloaded there's no reason to download it again.

rovr138 9y ago

IMAP can also send other instructions like Delete. You might want to consider POP3.

hvidgaard 9y ago
You can setup most IMAP clients to keep a copy of all messages.
pleasecalllater 9y ago
Can, but it doesn't mean that they send. My IMAP accounts keep emails on servers, and in my client.
epicide 9y ago
It can't delete an automatic or manual backup I've made of all/some of my email. I think the argument is that you have a way to export and retain emails while there is nothing you can do with messages on FB other than screenshot.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  If the argument is that I can go out of my way to back something up outside of the regular framework of the software, I could do the same by saving messages from Facebook.
  - dx034 9y ago
    Email backups have been standard for decades. There are solution that follow standards and have been tested in audits. Taking screenshots of Facebook messages is very different from that.
    - emodendroket 9y ago
      You could either save the HTML or pretty easily use some JavaScript to extract the message contents to plain text.