Email IMAP server quota exceeded

[#1]

I have been using Outlook on my desktop for many years, first via Globalnet, then Madasafish and now Plusnet. Until recently emails downloaded to Outlook on my desktop and were then deleted from Webmail automatically so under normal circumstances there were no emails on Webmail. I only used webmail when away from home. Having acquired a new desktop PC and set up Outlook etc again I find that emails are remaining on Webmail after being downloaded to Outlook and I keep having to delete from Outlook as I get messages about exceeding IMAP quota and the Outlook service stops.

Is there some setting that I'm missing that will restore the setup back to how it used to operate?

Bill

[#2]

@BillR46  Welcome to the Community forum.

We all have our own way of setting up our email client.

The idea behind IMAP is that the emails live on the server so that they can be accessed by multiple devices. They are backed up on the server.

Personally I use POP3 as I prefer to keep all emails on my PC, backed up on my own NAS. I set Outlook to delete messages on the server for 3 weeks after I get around to accessing them from my PC.
So I can access them through web mail for 3weeks after I have downloaded them to my system.

[#3]

Hi Bill,

A warm welcome to the forum.  It rather sounds as though your old PC mail client was set up as POP3 but the new one is set up as IMAP.

As @Baldrick1 suggests, if you want to access email from multiple clients, especially whilst away from home, mixing POP3 and IMAP clients (which is what the web mail interface is) can only lead to confusion.  If you were to leave your PC running whilst away from home, running POP3 ... you might not see new email via webmail.

Moreover, POP3 keeps its sent items locally, so whilst you are away you would not be able to refer to item sent from your home PC.

POP3 operation is "sold" by many as a lazy approach to housekeeping, rather than a user adopting a planned approach to managing email contents - cull the garbage and save only what needs to be saved for only as long as appropriate.  In Outlook you can create local storage files and automate periodic archiving.  I suggest that archiving under user control is a better approach than managing the complications which arise from mixed use of POP3.

In passing, whilst away, what device do you use to access your email?  Most modern mobile phones have email applications which you might use to access the mailbox direct, rather than using the browser webmail interface.