282065 - Installer forces download of e-mail

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 270743

(Thunderbird :: Installer, defect)

Description

[Lee Mulcahy]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.5) Gecko/20041107 Firefox/1.0
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.5) Gecko/20041107 Firefox/1.0

I downloaded the Thunderbird e-mail client on advice from a friend, hoping to
replace the evil empire application.  I installed the application FOR EVALUATION
PURPOSES ONLY.

When installing Thunderbird 1.0, the installer has a check-box for 'download
messages now?', with the default state of checked.  I unchecked this box BECAUSE
I WANTED TO LEAVE MY E-MAIL ON THE SERVER AND I KNEW THAT YOUR DEFAULT WAS
PROBABLY TO DELETE MESSAGES FROM THE SERVER (most email programs have that
default, for some unknown reason), then continued with the installation.
Low-and-behold, when I let the application launch at the end of the install, my
messages (all 350) were downloaded automatically. 

What good is this option if the information is not passed to the application? 
Knowing that the application default was likely to be 'check for new messages on
startup' and 'delete messages from server', I had hoped that this option in the
install would save me and my files. Apparently not.

The 'stop' button was grayed, so I could not interrupt the process.  

AND the messages were deleted off the server which is ABSOLUTELY NOT THE
BEHAVIOR THAT I WANTED!!!!

I keep my messages on the server so that they are available to me from other
computers at any time.  By having 'Leave messages on server' UNCHECKED as a
default, you have severely impacted my normal operating practice.

I understand that most people (and IT admins) want messages to be automatically
deleted off the server, but it is a destructive action, and as such should NOT
BE THE DEFAULT AT INSTALL TIME!!!!!!

Thanks bunches, guys, you've made my weekend.


Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Install Thunderbird 1.0
2. Uncheck the 'download messages now' checkbox
3. Allow installer to launch Thunderbird at the conclusion of the install
4. Enter your account information
5. Watch as Thunderbird downloads all messages on your server
6. Log on to your server and note that all your messages have been deleted by a
program that you are not sure you actually want because you are just EVALUATING IT.


Actual Results:  
All my messages were deleted from my mail server without my approval by a
program that I installed on my computer TO EVALUATE.

Expected Results:  
Since I unchecked the 'download messages now' checkbox on the installer, I
assumed that the information would have been passed on to the application.  I
think this is a reasonable assumption, since the installer is unlikely to be
able to download the messages itself.

I think I've said enough.  Now I have to figure out a way to get my messages out
of the EVALUATION program and back into my insipid Incredimail program.  Putting
them back on the server is stupid at this point.

Comment 1

[Matthias Versen [:Matti]]

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 270743 ***