[Akonadi] [Bug 336581] New: accidental database loss causes Akonadi / KMail breaks correct folder assignments

[Martin Steigerwald]

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=336581

            Bug ID: 336581
           Summary: accidental database loss causes Akonadi / KMail breaks
                    correct folder assignments
    Classification: Unclassified
           Product: Akonadi
           Version: GIT (master)
          Platform: Compiled Sources
                OS: Linux
            Status: UNCONFIRMED
          Severity: critical
          Priority: NOR
         Component: general
          Assignee: kdepim-bugs at kde.org
          Reporter: Martin at Lichtvoll.de

On akonadictl vacuum my machine hung – which may a BTRFS hanging issue, thus
not covered here – I rebooted. Database was broken due to zero byte file –
which IMHO is a bug in either MySQL or Akonadi, cause zero byte file with
delayed allocation in filesystem would only happen if someone does not fsync()
properly, a separate bug report. As Akonadi was slow anyway, I just removed
~/.local/share/akonadi as well as ~/local/share/baloo as well as
~/.kde/share/config/baloo* – as Baloo was broken too, crash on startup again
and crash in KMail on search, which is now also fixed… anyway the point this
bug report is about:

Akonadi / KMail breaks all folder assignments:
- Filters point to wrong folders
- Identity folders for Sent, Drafts, Templates point to wrong folders.
- POP3 resource incoming folder points to wrong folder.

I know the technicalities behind it.

But from a user point of view this is a bug. I think this needs fixing! That a
database loss never happens cannot be guarenteed. Thus the software should
handle this case gracefully.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Loose database, for example by akonadictl vacuum and switch of the machine
2. … or even just remove ~/.local/share/akonadi

Actual Results:  
Folder assignments are broken. Which has the following dire data loss
consequences if the user doesn´t intervene in time – consider automatic
retrieval intervalls:

1. Mails are sorted to the wrong folders, which may even lead to mails for POP3
account being sorted to an IMAP acount.
2. Mails are downloaded to the wrong folders.
3. Sent mails, drafts, templates are stored in wrong folders.

I consider this to be *data loss*.

Expected Results:  
At least:
- KMail / Akonadi *invalidates* folder assignments to avoid that unexpected
results happen

Better:
- For Maildir resource: Akonadi goes the route of Baloo an uses extented
attributes or even just a little file inside each mail folder to store a UUID
for the folder.
- For IMAP: Akonadi somehow stores a folder ID with the IMAP server. Is there a
way to do that with all current mail servers out there?

Please don´t just close it.

This has potential of data loss and at least causes a user with a complex mail
setup an hour or more to fix stuff back into operation.

Really, whatever the concept in Akonadi is: This *is* a bug. Thats at least my
oppinion. Its a behaviour I wouldn´t feel good to let any user be confronted
with.

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