Email - POP versus IMAP

Using a Desktop E-mail Client (Outlook, ThunderBird, Mac Mail)

Connecting with a Desktop E-Mail Client through POP or IMAP

Using the POP or IMAP protocols, desktop clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Mac Mail allow users to send and receive e-mail through a desktop mail reader. Most e-mail clients require you to enter your name, email address, email password, and two important mail server addresses:

Incoming Mail Server: prodmail1.udmercy.edu (This is the same for POP or IMAP)

Outgoing SMTP Server: mailgw.udmercy.edu

Outgoing SMTP Server Port Number: 587 

Should I Use POP or IMAP?

Wikipedia provides the following descriptions of POP and IMAP: 

Although most clients have an option to leave mail on server, e-mail clients using POP3 generally connect, retrieve all messages, store them on the user's PC as new messages, delete them from the server, and then disconnect. In contrast, the newer, more capable Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) supports both connected (online) and disconnected (offline) modes of operation. E-mail clients using IMAP generally leave messages on the server until the user explicitly deletes them. This and other aspects of IMAP operation allow multiple clients to access the same mailbox. Most e-mail clients support either POP3 or IMAP to retrieve messages; however, fewer Internet Service Providers (ISPs) support IMAP. The fundamental difference between POP3 and IMAP4 is that POP3 offers access to a mail drop; the mail exists on the server until it is collected by the client. Even if the client leaves some or all messages on the server, the client's message store is considered authoritative. In contrast, IMAP4 offers access to the mail store; the client may store local copies of the messages, but these are considered to be a temporary cache; the server's store is authoritative.