I wonder whether it could be considered to have Evolution as default email app/client in future Ubuntu versions again. It is a well maintained versatile email client.
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Evolution is maintained by just one person: Milan Crha. And its code base is ancient. Upstream GNOME is working hard to replace it with Geary.
How do you feel that it is so much better than Thunderbird, which is the Ubuntu default.
Thunderbird is certainly better maintained and it is versatile as well.
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I don’t think you need to ship a default mail client nowadays. Many people use Webmail or simply install the client they want. I wouldn’t consider a dedicated mail client that essential to install it by default.
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There are people that need a mail client, including those that require offline email management.
It is good for Ubuntu to suggest a supported software.
I support it will take some more years before a mail client is considered obsolete.
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That’s a good aspect. I agree.
I’m just saying a desktop mail client is a well-contained, easily installable application and different people have different needs. So it wouldn’t be outrageous if the user were simply pointed to the software store to pick and install their preferred client.
Whereas if you didn’t ship a default printing server, a preinstalled desktop environment or a browser, people would be overwhelmed and confused. For the e-mail case, people are already familiar with the concept of needing to go to their webmail website or to install a desktop client.
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i agree with you on the dedicated mail client not needed part but i beg to differ on the " many people use webmail " part.
i definitely prefer a mail client for my different email ids (personal & work) rather than opening multiple incognito / private windows & logging in manually on a daily basis.
i have introduced over a couple dozen people to thunderbird & they have profusely thanked me for it, not to mention they have not looked back at webmail ever since.
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Well, it’s not like I’m advocating for it. It’s just my anecdotal studies of family, friends and colleagues’ default behaviour that led me to the conclusion that for a majority of use-cases, i.e. private e-Mail, people tend to stick to webmail.
Thunderbird has crucial advantages in many areas; it’s just that they usually unfold their full potential in slightly more “advanced” use-cases.
You and I are certainly not dead centre in the bell curve of PC users’ competence, so what we prefer and are able to configure is not necessarily representative of the average user.
As someone who like many here came from Windows (now almost 10 years ago in my case) I found that by installing Thunderbird, along with Firefox and Google Chrome, I could continue to use applications that I had been used to using for sometime but in a somewhat different environment.
Evolution is interesting. I have it installed but I’ve never been tempted to use it full-time.
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it used to be the go-to outlook replacement for converted windows users around me back in the days (simply because it used to look similar and had the same feature set (tasks, calendar, email in one app)) … not sure how much that concept still stands, i havent seen outlook in more than a decade 
Maybe. But let’s feed the claim a little more data: https://emailclientmarketshare.com/ and sourced from that: https://www.statista.com/chart/17570/most-popular-email-clients/
We see 39% webmail vs 18% desktop client vs 43% mobile clients in the second link for Dec 2018. So that’s quite interesting.
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i guess practically everyone has been a windows user at some point of time.
i do have a windows rig too but the 1st thing i do after a fresh install is get rid of the mail app simply because for lack of a better word, it sucks.
to be honest thunderbird does have issues with aol & yahoo mail but i can live with it.
evolution & geary are definitely not for me.
am not an office user, i personally have no use for tasks, calendar etc.
but i like to have all my emails in one app which is where thunderbird comes in.
i do the 'buntu minimal install & i have never used microsoft / libre / open / softmaker office.
i would rather be a new 'buntu user than a converted windows user.
i wanted freedom from windows & 'buntu gave me just that.
i do not want my 'buntu rig to reminisce of windows which is why i prefer gnome.
not interested in a statistical war hence i have not bothered to click on the links you provided.
as i have mentioned earlier, in my personal experience users prefer a client over a browser to check their mail. have come across many users who were unaware that an email client existed & hence used webmail but once they switched, it was goodbye webmail permanently.
b.t.w. for the sake of arguing isn’t december 2018 kinda old.
if i was you i would dig out more recent statistics. am sure you can do better 
it is. That’s why the first link points to March 2020 data 
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well i did not click neither so…
anyways, it has been great interacting with you, have read many of your posts & they are always a good read.
personally i would be jacked if thunderbird ceased to exist which is why i try my best to promote it & also request users to donate to thunderbird the best they can.
stay indoors, stay safe.
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Is it just me, or that Gmail refuses to work with Thunderbird calling it an " insecure app " ? That is my experience in 18.04.
I think you can use OAuth2 in Thunderbird and that will make Gmail happy again. Or you can enable “allow less secure apps” in the Gmail settings. Either should work.
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For what it is worth, I’m very happy that Ubuntu Mate is using evolution as the default email app. It performs much better for me on large mailboxes and makes the calendar widgets functional (no, the e-d-s package was never sufficient). It does look quite dated, but so does Thunderbird.
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A new default mail client should integrate with Gnome Online Accounts. Currently, Evolution and Geary do integrate, and Thunderbird doesn’t.
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This is a really good point. Shouldn’t all of the defaults work with Online Accounts out of the box? Wouldn’t that be more seamless? So, Geary, Calendar, Contacts, and Web (epiphany-browser) for the win! Who is with me!?
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