I'm using Thunderbird 140.6.0esr (aarch64) on a 2024 14" MacBok Pro running MacOS 15.7.3 (24G419).
I manage fourteen email addresses, with most of the traffic going to o… (read more)
I'm using Thunderbird 140.6.0esr (aarch64) on a 2024 14" MacBok Pro running MacOS 15.7.3 (24G419).
I manage fourteen email addresses, with most of the traffic going to one primary account, either by direct addressing or forwarders from others of the addresses. Maybe not the most efficient setup, but it means I don't have to scan 14 different inboxes to find the messages I most need.
I currently use ±89 filters on this primary account to file messages in a LOT of mailserver-based folders, and a few folders on the laptop. ±90% of the traffic gets filed in server-based folders so I can use any device to access message history. (I should probably note that these filters and message-threading don't always play nice together.)
For a long time, one of the message filters I'll call "Filter BS" successfully filed specific messages in "Folder BS," a server-based folder 2 levels below the inbox. Folder BS also has 2 levels of sub-folders within it for annual and monthly filing.
Some time ago, I began to have problems with messages of many kinds (subjects/sources/etc.) going missing. Eventually, I searched and found them in Folder BS. In response, I deleted Filter BS, looked for but didn't find other filters responsible for these unexpected results, and managed incoming BS-related messages manually. But despite Filter BS having been deleted, non-BS-related messages still get "lost," meaning incorrectly filed in Folder BS, which is acting like a rogue black hole, sucking up everything that gets too close. I have not been able to identify any criteria for what turns up in Folder BS beyond "lots of stuff that doesn't in any way belong there."
Speculating that something's "off" with the BS folder's directory in a way that would be nearly impossible to fix, I'm trying to figure out the least inconvenient, least risky way to solve the problem.
Not knowing other ways I might compound the problem by making big moves with the MANY messages archived in the BS folder's 7 annual subfolders and their 12 each subfolders; and not knowing how to back up server-based in-box sub-folders, I'm stuck at an impasse.
How should I proceed?
Thanks in advance for any input.