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Offline mail readers are computer programs that allow users to read electronic mail or other messages (for example, those on bulletin boards) with a minimum of connection time to the server storing the messages. This is accomplished by the server packaging up multiple messages into a compressed file for the user to download and then disconnect. The user then reads the message packet locally and any replies or new messages generated are packaged up and uploaded back to the server upon the next connection.
Most e-mail systems, like the common POP and IMAP formats used for internet mail, are offline by their very nature. The term is generally applied to those systems that did not originally offer such functionality, notably on bulletin board systems where toll charges and tying up telephone lines were a major concern. Users of large networks such as FidoNet regularly used offline mail readers, and it was also used for UseNet messages on the internet, which is also an online system. The two most common formats for FidoNet use were QWK and Blue Wave. Less well-know examples include XRS, OMEM, OPX, SOUP and ZipMail.
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