how to move email to new system

[Derek Broughton]

Default User wrote:

> Extra credit question: why do email programs not store email messages as
> normal text files? 

I'll go for the extra credit, since I don't know anything about Evolution.  

Almost all mail programs DO store email in normal text files.  There are two
standard formats: mbox, where all messages are stored in a single file; and
maildir, where each message is in its own file within a subdirectory (.cur
or .new) of a folder.

If Evolution doesn't use one of these formats by default, I'd be really
surprised if it couldn't.
-- 
derek