My experiences with Mutt to date: Suggestions for overcoming some issues

[Andrew Marks]

> 1)  Mutt erratically loses connection with Gmail and I have to
> manually reconnect.  Sometimes this happens rather frequently as in
> multiple instances within an hour.  I am confident it is not my
> Internet connection, which is normally quite stable and fast.  For
> instance my streaming music is never interrupted, the family's TV
> shows continue unimpeded, etc., but my connectivity to Gmail is
> interrupted randomly.  If I have both Mutt and the web interface open,
> Mutt has its interruptions while the Gmail web interface appears to be
> updating normally.

I'd recommend using an separate IMAP-maildir sync tool like
isync/mbsync. (https://isync.sourceforge.io). Waiting for IMAP (and even
SMTP) operations in mutt is slow (not because of mutt, but because you
are waiting for network transactions to occur). This type of setup also
enables working with mail while offline. I'll never go back after
switching to isync and a local postfix or ssmtp instance. I no longer
compile mutt with IMAP, POP, or SMTP support.(Nothing against mutt or
the devs for including this support, I recognize including support for
these protocols is good and lowers the barrier to entry for most users.)

Unsolicited advice: Mail (that you are through with) left on the IMAP
server is mail-debt you will have to eventually pay. I delete or archive
mail off-IMAP the moment there is no action. Combine your off-IMAP
archive with notmuch, mairix, mu, or some other indexer so you can
quickly find what you need in your vast archives.

-Andrew