Folders have no old messages after migration

[#1]

@MisterW Yes, like you, I can see in Advanced Server Settings the IMAP Server Directory, and it is blank.

Yet if I create a folder, it goes under Inbox - perhaps because the Personal Namespace below contains "INBOX.", again like you. I have read the help for the page, but it does not clarify it for me. 

I think that folders should be under Inbox, but I cannot confirm that was the case before migration for the account that has been migrated and now has folders not under inbox.

[#2]

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@mavison wrote:

Is is possible that the migration copied folders but wrongly omitted the Inbox prefix?

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I do not think this can be polarised into "right" or "wrong" but rather just "differently".

From the testing I have done, depending on the character of the IMAP client, custom folders can be created either at root level or under the INBOX.  Asking Google "Where should IMAP folders be located - under root or inbox" its AI answered...

The standard location for IMAP folders is highly dependent on your email provider's server configuration. There is no single universal "correct" answer, but rather two common scenarios. 

IMAP Folder Structure Scenarios

• Under the root: In this setup, folders like "Inbox", "Sent Items", "Drafts", and "Trash" appear at the same top level in your email client's folder list. This is often how a fresh IMAP account is configured by default and is common with services like Gmail (though Gmail has its own specific implementation).
• Under the "Inbox": Some email servers are configured such that the "Inbox" acts as the primary root for all other mail folders. This means that "Sent Items", "Drafts", etc., are actually sub-folders of the "Inbox" folder in the server's file structure. In your email client, they would visually appear nested within the Inbox. 

My red highlighting... which I suspect is very significant here.

This is invaluable feedback, which I will use to amplify the SU discussion with the business.

EDIT: There is some possibility that a precise like for like CANNOT be attained, as where the folders are placed is a characteristic of the email service / IMAP client configuration.  I suspect that the tooling sees a folder on the source and tells the target to create a folder ... where it goes is where it goes.  Whatever, we do need to understand what is happening and ensure that there is appropriate guidance offered.

[#3]

By pure chance, since my last post I was out for 30 minutes ... on return I had a 'Welcome to Greenby' message for my own account!

A few days ago I created a TestFolder with 20 emails in it under Inbox in my account ... and it and the contents are still there, with contents, under Inbox.

So the question is: were the duplicated folders in my son's account in Inbox before migration or not?

If they were, why did migration move them out of Inbox?

If not, then migration copied like-for-like and the question is why were they not in INbox pre-migration?

I am not placing bets either way.

[#4]

Aaaah! I spoke too soon. Although I can see all my emails and folders in Thunderbird, when I logged on to greenby.com and from there to webmail, the only emails I can see are the odd few received post-migration, and one in a Junk folder which was deleted post-migration. So it seems Thunderbird (and I think Samsung Mail devices) is fine, but Webmail has not caught up with anything migrated.

Am I just being impatient?  It is now over an hour since the Welcome email was sent.

I am starting to see how users can get confused.