Re: "Can't create mailbox node" with fastmail.fm IMAP <-> IMAP

[John Goerzen <jgoerzen@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Feb 07, 2005 at 11:54:08AM +0000, Simon Waldman wrote:
> standard mandrake "imap-2004" package, for use with Thunderbird) with 
> fastmail.fm.

That sounds like UW imap.  FWIW, this one is known to be not fully
compliant with the IMAP spec.  Unfortunately, the ways in which it is
not fully compliant are ones that tend to cause trouble for OfflineIMAP.
I don't think people lose mail over it, but they do get weird problems
like you're experiencing from time to time.

> Subsequent syncs, however, crash with the following:

[snip]

>      raise RuntimeError, "Repository %s could not create folder %s: %s" 
> % (self.getname(), foldername, str(result))
> RuntimeError: Repository Local could not create folder INBOX/Work: 
> ('NO', ["CREATE failed: Can't create mailbox node 
> /home/simon/Mail/INBOX/Work: File exists"])

OK, so the local end is trying to create the folder ~/Mail/INBOX/Work,
and the local imap server is returning a "File exists" errr.

> The obvious thing seems to be permissions issue, but /home/simon/Mail 
> and /home/simon/Mail/INBOX are 700 and the contents of the latter are 
> 600. I tried setting 777 and 666, and it didn't help.

Is /home/simon/Mail/INBOX a directory or a file?  If a directory, can
you show me an ls -la of it?

If it's a file, that'll be your problem.  UW imap cannot handle
sub-folders of folders with mail in them, since folders with mail in
them are handled as files in UW imap.  You will either have to apply a
nametrans to rename them (you could use something like Mail/INBOX.Work)
or something else along those lines.

-- John