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Mac Bulk Mail Folder
#39098 02/26/16 02:51 AM
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Something weird happened a few weeks ago with my Yahoo bulk folder in Mac mail. All my folders are solid gray. This one turned white and no longer receives bulk mail. I like to check my bulk mail folder each day because sometimes legitimate mail goes in there. Today I finally checked the Yahoo Mail site to see if there was any bulk mail there, and there was over 1,000. It's just not getting into my bulk folder in my Mac Mail program.

I haven't changed anything on the Yahoo Site and doubled checked it. I could have done something on my Mac because I've been doing things here and there. But I never knowingly messed with my bulk folder.

Any idea how to make that folder active again?

Thanks.

Rita


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #39111 02/26/16 05:01 PM
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I can't promise this will do it, but in Apple Mail Preferences look at Accounts>Mailbox Behaviors>Junk and also Mail>Preferences>Junk. If you use SpamSieve this last one will be greyed-out, which is normal since SpamSieve is handling the filtering.

Check to see if things are set in a way that makes sense to you.


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
Ira L #39128 02/26/16 09:57 PM
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Originally Posted By: Ira L
I can't promise this will do it, but in Apple Mail Preferences look at Accounts>Mailbox Behaviors>Junk and also Mail>Preferences>Junk. If you use SpamSieve this last one will be greyed-out, which is normal since SpamSieve is handling the filtering.

Check to see if things are set in a way that makes sense to you.


Hi Ira:

It just says store junk messages on server. Nothing has really changed. Also, I have a junk folder and a Bulk mail folder. The junk folder works but the Bulk folder (which is where all my spamm used to go) is the one whited out and doesn't work. The junk folder only works when I click on the "thumbs down" when I get an iffy email. Usually, I don't have to filter anything, it just goes into the bulk folder. Not anymore. frown

Rita


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #39130 02/26/16 11:02 PM
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Plantsowner I have a couple of questions about your account
  • Is this account IMAP or POP (if you don't know look in Mail > Preferences > Accounts — select an account and it should indicate whether it is POP or IMAP.
  • If you look at the list of mailboxes in Mail is your Junk folder…
    • under one of your email accounts?
    • If yes is it the same account where the problem is occurring?
    • On My Mac?
  • Is this by any chance a Google Mail account?


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
joemikeb #39134 02/27/16 04:03 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Plantsowner I have a couple of questions about your account
  • Is this account IMAP or POP (if you don't know look in Mail > Preferences > Accounts — select an account and it should indicate whether it is POP or IMAP.
  • If you look at the list of mailboxes in Mail is your Junk folder…
    • under one of your email accounts?
    • If yes is it the same account where the problem is occurring?
    • On My Mac?
  • Is this by any chance a Google Mail account?



All my accounts are IMAP. No Google accounts. One Yahoo account and thee mail.com accounts. They all have junk folders. And now that I looked more closely, all the accounts have inactive Bulk folders in white. The Bulk folder under "On my Mac" is normal color but nothing in it. I didn't notice it earlier because usually it's my Yahoo account that has a lot of spam in the bulk folder. So, none of the Bulk folders are working it seems.


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #39143 02/27/16 03:55 PM
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You say usually you don't have to filter anything. How do you filter your junk mail? And now nothing is getting filtered, except by you manually?

If you were using Apple's junk mail filter previously, take a look at it now: Mail>Preferences>Rules. Make sure the rule is checked as active and at the top of the Rules list. Click on the junk mail filter rule, choose "Edit" (you won't) and see if it is moving things where you would expect.


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
Ira L #39147 02/27/16 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted By: Ira L
You say usually you don't have to filter anything. How do you filter your junk mail? And now nothing is getting filtered, except by you manually?

If you were using Apple's junk mail filter previously, take a look at it now: Mail>Preferences>Rules. Make sure the rule is checked as active and at the top of the Rules list. Click on the junk mail filter rule, choose "Edit" (you won't) and see if it is moving things where you would expect.


Hi:

What I usually do when bulk (spam) mail slipped into my regular mail is to either just delete it, make a rule for it to go to trash, or mark it as "junk". Recently I found a way to make it go directly into the junk folder after I marked it as junk by clicking the thumbs down icon. I forget how I learned how to do it, but I am sure it is in the prefs somewhere.

But, normally, Yahoo really knows what spam is and puts it in my Bulk Folder. That is only happening on the Yahoo site now. I never even get it from Yahoo or Mail.com. I haven't changed any settings regarding Bulk mail on my Mac Mail nor on the mail sites. So that's why I am at a loss. My Bulk folders look funny now and don't work.

I am wondering if I rebuild my mailboxes if that will help. Or just delete the accounts on Mac Mail and and then add them back in. My only concern there is that I will lose stuff I'm saving in certain mail folders. I don't know how to get them onto the desktop while I do t his. I can't drag and drop them.

I could back everything up on my external HD but then wouldn't I have to go there every time I wanted to see one of those files if I lose then all? That's my dilemma.


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #39149 02/27/16 05:15 PM
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Originally Posted By: plantsower
All my accounts are IMAP. No Google accounts. One Yahoo account and thee mail.com accounts. They all have junk folders. And now that I looked more closely, all the accounts have inactive Bulk folders in white. The Bulk folder under "On my Mac" is normal color but nothing in it. I didn't notice it earlier because usually it's my Yahoo account that has a lot of spam in the bulk folder. So, none of the Bulk folders are working it seems.

Try this,
  1. In Mail > Preferences > Junk Mail
    1. Be sure junk mail filtering is checked
    2. Under When junk mail arrives: if the Perform custom actions radio button is selected…
      1. click on the Advanced button
      2. Under Perform the following actions one of the listed actions should be Move Message to mailbox Junk
      3. Verify that Junk mailbox is under the list of accounts and NOT On my mac
    3. Trust junk mail headers in messages and Filter junk mail before applying my rules should both be checked.
  2. In Mail > Preferences > Rules
    • check any and all rules for a rule a selection criteria of Message is junk Mail and if there is one it should be first in the list of rules and verify it matches I.1.b and I.1.c. In some older versions of Mail the advanced Junk mail rules were listed as just one of the rules. In the more recent versions of Mail that rule does not appear along with the user specified rules.
NOTE: I am using Mail 9.3 in OS X 10.11.4 beta 4 as my reference, but those settings are also present in earlier versions of Mail and OS X, but perhaps in lightly different locations so you may have to look around to find them, but they are there — somewhere. crazy

As for Yahoo they are putting the junk in the junk folder before it gets to you not after as is the case with your mail.com accounts.

I have no explanation for why something might have changed on your system, but it does happen — to me it seemed to happen in more often older versions of OS X than it does in El Capitan, but that is strictly anecdotal and I cannot substantiate it.

Last edited by joemikeb; 02/27/16 05:29 PM.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
joemikeb #39151 02/27/16 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: plantsower
All my accounts are IMAP. No Google accounts. One Yahoo account and thee mail.com accounts. They all have junk folders. And now that I looked more closely, all the accounts have inactive Bulk folders in white. The Bulk folder under "On my Mac" is normal color but nothing in it. I didn't notice it earlier because usually it's my Yahoo account that has a lot of spam in the bulk folder. So, none of the Bulk folders are working it seems.

Try this,
  1. In Mail > Preferences > Junk Mail
    1. Be sure junk mail filtering is checked
    2. Under When junk mail arrives: if the Perform custom actions radio button is selected…
      1. click on the Advanced button
      2. Under Perform the following actions one of the listed actions should be Move Message to mailbox Junk
      3. Verify that Junk mailbox is under the list of accounts and NOT On my mac
    3. Trust junk mail headers in messages and Filter junk mail before applying my rules should both be checked.
  2. In Mail > Preferences > Rules
    • check any and all rules for a rule a selection criteria of Message is junk Mail and if there is one it should be first in the list of rules and verify it matches I.1.b and I.1.c. In some older versions of Mail the advanced Junk mail rules were listed as just one of the rules. In the more recent versions of Mail that rule does not appear along with the user specified rules.
NOTE: I am using Mail 9.3 in OS X 10.11.4 beta 4 as my reference, but those settings are also present in earlier versions of Mail and OS X, but perhaps in lightly different locations so you may have to look around to find them, but they are there — somewhere. crazy

As for Yahoo they are putting the junk in the junk folder before it gets to you not after as is the case with your mail.com accounts.

I have no explanation for why something might have changed on your system, but it does happen — to me it seemed to happen in more often older versions of OS X than it does in El Capitan, but that is strictly anecdotal and I cannot substantiate it.


OK. I looked at all your instructions and everything is already as you say to do it. I don't exactly understand your last instruction: In Mail > Preferences > Rules
check any and all rules for a rule a selection criteria of Message is junk Mail and if there is one it should be first in the list of rules and verify it matches I.1.b and I.1.c. In some older versions of Mail the advanced Junk mail rules were listed as just one of the rules. In the more recent versions of Mail that rule does not appear along with the user specified rules.


Also, some how junk mail and Bulk mail is different in Yahoo or actually on my computer as it has affected all my accounts. The usual bulk mail that is automatically put in the Bulk folder doesn't come in anymore. I do get the occasional spam in my inbox which I relegate to the Junk folder. When I look at the Yahoo Mail site, there are a lot of items in the spam folder that I have never received into my mail program. At this point, I am keeping that Yahoo Mail site tab open and check the spam folder periodically throughout the day so I can catch anything that doesn't belong in it. It's a slight pain but better than missing something important.


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #39160 02/28/16 03:50 PM
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AFIK the bulk mail classification is unique to Yahoo and that sorting takes place on their server before Mail sees it. Since you are using IMAP you do see everything in the other folders/mailboxes but they do not cycle through your inbox. Mail's rules fire when a message hits the inbox but it happens so fast you do not see the message in the inbox.

I am on my iPad at the moment, so I am unsure of the exact location of the menu item, but I believe in either the accounts or mailbox menus there is an item to synch all accounts or a single account. If you synch your Yahoo account both the junk and bulk mailboxes should appear in Mail and anything you see logged onto the Yahoo webmail interface should appear on your Mac. Normally you only need to do that once.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
joemikeb #39164 02/28/16 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
AFIK the bulk mail classification is unique to Yahoo and that sorting takes place on their server before Mail sees it. Since you are using IMAP you do see everything in the other folders/mailboxes but they do not cycle through your inbox. Mail's rules fire when a message hits the inbox but it happens so fast you do not see the message in the inbox.

I am on my iPad at the moment, so I am unsure of the exact location of the menu item, but I believe in either the accounts or mailbox menus there is an item to synch all accounts or a single account. If you synch your Yahoo account both the junk and bulk mailboxes should appear in Mail and anything you see logged onto the Yahoo webmail interface should appear on your Mac. Normally you only need to do that once.


Hi:

The bulk folder is not unique to Yahoo. In fact Yahoo doesn't have a bulk folder on it's site nor a junk folder. That is strictly Mac stuff. Yahoo just has a "spam" folder which usually dumps into my bulk folder. On my Mac mail program, however, I have bulk folders for all of my accounts which I didn't put there. I also have junk folders which I didn't put there.

I've never synced my mail because I didn't know exactly what it meant and was afraid if I didn't like what it did, I couldn't unsync it. If you can tell me how to unsync them, I will try syncing them and see what happens. I've never done it before so I am not sure what really went wrong in my mail program. Thanks.

P.S. I know I've seen something that says synch but at this moment I can't find it.


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #39181 02/29/16 04:30 PM
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My bad — I said I was on my iPad so I couldn't verify my reference — the command is — on the Mail menu bar, Mailbox > Synchronize all accounts. That command refreshes the links to your accounts and in IMAP that includes adding any folders that are on the host to those listed on your computer and vice versa. In other words it simply makes certain the account structures on your Mac and the IMAP server match. That does not include any folders On My Mac. The mailbox structure structures for each account on your computer should match the structures on the IMAP servers.

As to the bulk mailbox/folder being an Apple thing, I have several Macs around here, and have access to many more and not one of them has a BULK mailbox associated with any account so it is not standard Mac stuff. Neither is there any Rule condition in Mail that selects on a condition of bulk mail. So I suspect your bulk mailbox/folder is
  1. the product of a third party application that has at one time or another been installed on your Mac and has subsequently been removed or for whatever reason quit working
  2. the result of a Rule you created.

SIDEBAR:
  • I had recently been experimenting with a third party email client and as a result ended up with several unique mailboxes on all of my IMAP accounts. After I gave up on that product and reverted to Mail I had to delete several mailboxes. Fortunately, deleting them on my Mac also deletes them on the various IMAP servers
  • in replying to this thread, I found a couple of Mail rules I forgot I had created and are no longer needed
  • so thanks for prompting me to clean house wink


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
joemikeb #39184 02/29/16 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
My bad — I said I was on my iPad so I couldn't verify my reference — the command is — on the Mail menu bar, Mailbox > Synchronize all accounts. That command refreshes the links to your accounts and in IMAP that includes adding any folders that are on the host to those listed on your computer and vice versa. In other words it simply makes certain the account structures on your Mac and the IMAP server match. That does not include any folders On My Mac. The mailbox structure structures for each account on your computer should match the structures on the IMAP servers.

As to the bulk mailbox/folder being an Apple thing, I have several Macs around here, and have access to many more and not one of them has a BULK mailbox associated with any account so it is not standard Mac stuff. Neither is there any Rule condition in Mail that selects on a condition of bulk mail. So I suspect your bulk mailbox/folder is
  1. the product of a third party application that has at one time or another been installed on your Mac and has subsequently been removed or for whatever reason quit working
  2. the result of a Rule you created.

SIDEBAR:
  • I had recently been experimenting with a third party email client and as a result ended up with several unique mailboxes on all of my IMAP accounts. After I gave up on that product and reverted to Mail I had to delete several mailboxes. Fortunately, deleting them on my Mac also deletes them on the various IMAP servers
  • in replying to this thread, I found a couple of Mail rules I forgot I had created and are no longer needed
  • so thanks for prompting me to clean house wink


Wow! Well since I have bulk folders and junk folders for everything I assumed it was a Mac thing. I've had them forever (over three years since I bought my Macbook Pro). So, I have no idea what I may have done to cause this. confused

I will attempt to synch my mail boxes and see what happens. Crossing my fingers.

Thanks, and I'm glad I could help you declutter. cool


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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
plantsower #41468 08/15/16 02:51 AM
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Originally Posted By: plantsower
Originally Posted By: joemikeb
My bad — I said I was on my iPad so I couldn't verify my reference — the command is — on the Mail menu bar, Mailbox > Synchronize all accounts. That command refreshes the links to your accounts and in IMAP that includes adding any folders that are on the host to those listed on your computer and vice versa. In other words it simply makes certain the account structures on your Mac and the IMAP server match. That does not include any folders On My Mac. The mailbox structure structures for each account on your computer should match the structures on the IMAP servers.



As to the bulk mailbox/folder being an Apple thing, I have several Macs around here, and have access to many more and not one of them has a BULK mailbox associated with any account so it is not standard Mac stuff. Neither is there any Rule condition in Mail that selects on a condition of bulk mail. So I suspect your bulk mailbox/folder is
  1. the product of a third party application that has at one time or another been installed on your Mac and has subsequently been removed or for whatever reason quit working
  2. the result of a Rule you created.

SIDEBAR:
  • I had recently been experimenting with a third party email client and as a result ended up with several unique mailboxes on all of my IMAP accounts. After I gave up on that product and reverted to Mail I had to delete several mailboxes. Fortunately, deleting them on my Mac also deletes them on the various IMAP servers
  • in replying to this thread, I found a couple of Mail rules I forgot I had created and are no longer needed
  • so thanks for prompting me to clean house wink


Wow! Well since I have bulk folders and junk folders for everything I assumed it was a Mac thing. I've had them forever (over three years since I bought my Macbook Pro). So, I have no idea what I may have done to cause this. confused

I will attempt to synch my mail boxes and see what happens. Crossing my fingers.

Thanks, and I'm glad I could help you declutter. cool

Last edited by plantsower; 08/15/16 02:52 AM.

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Re: Mac Bulk Mail Folder
joemikeb #41469 08/15/16 02:54 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
My bad — I said I was on my iPad so I couldn't verify my reference — the command is — on the Mail menu bar, Mailbox > Synchronize all accounts. That command refreshes the links to your accounts and in IMAP that includes adding any folders that are on the host to those listed on your computer and vice versa. In other words it simply makes certain the account structures on your Mac and the IMAP server match. That does not include any folders On My Mac. The mailbox structure structures for each account on your computer should match the structures on the IMAP servers.

As to the bulk mailbox/folder being an Apple thing, I have several Macs around here, and have access to many more and not one of them has a BULK mailbox associated with any account so it is not standard Mac stuff. Neither is there any Rule condition in Mail that selects on a condition of bulk mail. So I suspect your bulk mailbox/folder is
  1. the product of a third party application that has at one time or another been installed on your Mac and has subsequently been removed or for whatever reason quit working
  2. the result of a Rule you created.

SIDEBAR:
  • I had recently been experimenting with a third party email client and as a result ended up with several unique mailboxes on all of my IMAP accounts. After I gave up on that product and reverted to Mail I had to delete several mailboxes. Fortunately, deleting them on my Mac also deletes them on the various IMAP servers
  • in replying to this thread, I found a couple of Mail rules I forgot I had created and are no longer needed
  • so thanks for prompting me to clean house wink


I can't believe I forgot to do this back when we were talking about this, but I finally synchronized my mail today and it worked!! Nothing went into my bulk folder like before, but all spam went into junk. I no longer have to go to Yahoo each day and check spam. Thanks so much.


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