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Junk vs Junkmail Folders

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  • Last reply by Toad-Hall

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Having recently set up Thunderbird, for each of my configured email accounts (all IMAP, though POP in a previous life...), there's both a 'Junk' folder and a 'Junkmail' folder. I didn't explicitly create either one. Stuff seems to wind up in either one (i.e., neither folder goes consistently empty). Is one put there by Thunderbird (the 'Junk' folders), and the other perhaps by my mail email provider (Spectrum/Roadrunner -- the 'Junkmail' folders)? I'm an Outlook convert, and I seem to remember configuring some 'Rules' which were local and some which were on the server. Are the "Junkmail" folders the result of the server rules? (Reading through the forums here, I get the impression that the 'Junk' folders are the Thunderbird client itself.)

Having recently set up Thunderbird, for each of my configured email accounts (all IMAP, though POP in a previous life...), there's both a 'Junk' folder and a 'Junkmail' folder. I didn't explicitly create either one. Stuff seems to wind up in either one (i.e., neither folder goes consistently empty). Is one put there by Thunderbird (the 'Junk' folders), and the other perhaps by my mail email provider (Spectrum/Roadrunner -- the 'Junkmail' folders)? I'm an Outlook convert, and I seem to remember configuring some 'Rules' which were local and some which were on the server. Are the "Junkmail" folders the result of the server rules? (Reading through the forums here, I get the impression that the 'Junk' folders are the Thunderbird client itself.)

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Update to my previous question. I notice I ACTUALLY have THREE junk folders for each account: a 'Junk' folder, ad 'Junkmail' folder and a 'Junk E-mail' folder. Oh, and there are three email accounts configured; two are add'l Roadrunner "sub-accounts". All were previously configured in Outlook as well.

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'Junk' is possibly been an old folder from the days of the POP account and somehow it got onto the server. 'Junkmail' is likely to have come from roadrunner.

Each mail account will have it's own set of folders, so would also have own junk/spam folder.

You can tell which one is the current server junk/spam folder by logging on to the webmail account for that email address using a browser and then select an email as Junk. Then see which folder receives that email.

In Thunderbird, you should ideally select the same folder that is used by the server. So that when you select mark as junk in thunderbird, it is all going to the same folder. It is also likely that the default server junk folder is by default subscribed to be seen in the imap account. You may be able to unsubscribe from seeing the 'Junk' folder in Thunderbird and then logon to webmail account and delete it. If 'junkmail' is also seen but not used by server you could try to unsubscribe from seeing it.

You set that up here:

  • Right click on imap account name folder in Folder Pane and select 'Settings'
  • select 'Junk Settings'
  • Select 'Other' and choose the correct junk folder on the imap account.
  • Click on OK.