Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
SMTP comes from the 1970s and IMAP from the late 1980s—they're built on assumptions about how computers and email worked back then, with bolt-ons added over time to cope with modern problems. The real issue? Every IMAP connection keeps an open connection to the server just waiting for new mail, which means servers handling a 'squintillion' people are doing massive amounts of work just to keep connections alive. When Fastmail proposed building JMAP 10 years ago, one of IMAP's original authors said 'you're dreaming if you think it's ever gonna work.'
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SMTP comes from the 1970s and IMAP from the late 1980s—they're built on assumptions about how computers and email worked back then, with bolt-ons added over time to cope with modern problems. The real issue? Every IMAP connection keeps an open connection to the server just waiting for new mail, which means servers handling a 'squintillion' people are doing massive amounts of work just to keep connections alive. When Fastmail proposed building JMAP 10 years ago, one of IMAP's original authors said 'you're dreaming if you think it's ever gonna work.'
Watch the full Techlore Talks: youtube.com/watch?v=FByPnomEh5o
🔐 Visit Our Website: https://techlore.tech/
🕵 Go Incognito Course - to learn about privacy: https://techlore.tech/go-incognito-course/
Keep Techlore Growing By Supporting Our Work:
💖 All Our Support Methods: https://techlore.tech/support/
#techlore #techloreclips #fastmail
