problems deleting emails from server

[#1]

I've had a number of emails from Plusnet asking me to reduce the size of my mailboxes. When I log on to webmail, it says "loading' for a few minutes then says 'server error unable to send fetch command'. This happens to each of the three mailboxes. It would be great if there was an easy way of doing this instead of it being such a time-consuming and problematic hassle every time.

[#2]

Hey there @outinthesticks sorry to hear about the issues with webmail. Can you try the below and see if it helps. It doesn't always but it's worth a try.

Log into webmail
On the inbox list screen select LIST OPTIONS which is the little grid icon on the left of the column title bar
Set sorting column to NONE
Click save

[#3]

Moderator's Note

This topic has been moved from Broadband to Email

[#4]

thanks Will, yes it does help in that it the contents of the mailbox now loads. But I can only delete a screen-full at a time, if I select all messages and try to delete the lot I get server error messages and they stay where they are. So it is a painfully slow process! Either I'm doing something wrong or there must surely be a better way.

[#5]

24 hours on and still struggling with the largest mailbox. I have moved 2000+ messages to the deleted items folder but when I try to empty folder I get a server error message. And it is really not helpful to get an email from Plusnet this morning saying that my mailbox is full! I'm trying to sort it out and some practical advice and suggestions would be most appreciated. 

[#6]

You can delete the messages without moving to the trash folder by holding down the shift key when selecting delete.

Just be careful because once deleted this way there is no 2nd chance!

[#7]

Thanks but the emails are already in the deleted items folder and I can't see a delete option as such. Currently I'm trying to mover a screenful at a time to the junk folder and empty that. Though its taking an age. 

[#8]

Culling mailbox contents

If you need to clean out your mailbox, may be because it is over quota, then as well as tidying up the inbox, you need to also look at the SENT ITEMS folder and then afterwards clear out the TRASH folder. However some times webmail performance can make this process very tedious, particularly if the delete action (actually a move to the trash folder) fails.

If you primarily want to delete emails, you can mitigate delete performance issues by doing an "immediate" delete (rather than a move to trash for deletion later) by holding down the SHIFT key when pressing the DEL key. This works in both webmail and most PC based email clients. WARNING SHIFT+DEL is not recoverable so be certain absolutely, that you do not need the email before pressing the buttons!

Alternatively, in webmail (Round Cube) Settings -> Server Settings there are some options worth exploring controlling how deletes are performed...

1. Flag the message for deletion instead of delete
2. If moving messages to "Deleted Items" fails, permanently delete them
3. Compact Inbox on logout

Setting these options and using them together will avoid the over heads of moving items to the trash folder when you wish to delete them. They will simply be greyed out and remain in the inbox list. After logging out of webmail, they will then be removed from the mailbox.

Whilst this might be highly proficient, it needs to be used with care, for when they are gone, they are gone. Note also that Plusnet house-keeping clears out the trash folder weekly.

Also note that within webmail you can change the number of items displayed per page ... but do not make it too large as that impacts performance.