iRedMail + Sieve+ SOGo

NOVA uses the open source software iRedMail to administrate our electronic mail.

iRedMail has the ability to filter email on the Server-side, meaning on the server itself, before it reaches your INBOX.
Our server uses Sieve, a mail filtering language, to perform the filtering. Nobody wants to write sieve scripts.

Our SOGo web client makes this process easy, sieve scripts (filters) are managed through the SOGo web client.

To find the filter manager, open the SOGo web client and login.
Select the GEAR icon (preferences), in the upper left of the client.
Select MAIL, on the left.
The select FILTERS when the contect menu appears.

CREATE FILTER is located on the bottom right of the client.

IMAP + SOGo + SIEVE

Our iRedMail server in conjuction with the IMAP server protocol supports the creation of many email folders,
The standard IMAP accessible email folders are Inbox, Drafts, Sent and Trash.
Through IMAP or the SOGo, you can create as many folders as you wish.
These folders can be used to FILTER (move or copy) incoming mail, into a folder, instead of the INBOX.
A good set of filters, and some imagincation will keep your INBOX free of clutter.

Sieve Tutorial

This Sieve Tutorial may be helpful in understanding the definition of the SOGo filter commands. If you are hard core, read RFC 5228 Sieve: An Email Filter Language .
SOGo generates the sieve scripts and we cannot edit them directly. Instructions in the tutorial may help you understand the meaning of the different SOGo supplied tests and commands.

Match Types

• The "match" match type specifies a wildcard match using the characters " * " and " ? "; the entire value must be matched.
• The "contains" match type describes a substring match. If the value argument contains the key argument as a substring, the match is true.
• The "is" match type describes an absolute match; if the contents of the first string are absolutely the same as the contents of thesecond string, they match.
• The "matches regex" match type specifies matching a regular expression, a special text string for describing a search pattern.

Commands (perform these actions)

• keep, to save the message in the default location
• fileinto, to save the message in a specific mailbox
• redirect, to forward the message to another address
• discard, to silently throw away the message

The Sieve add-on for Thunderbird is a useful and free way of managing Sieve scripts from the Thunderbird email client.

Automatic Filtering

Our server will automatically filter (fileinto) an email into an IMAP folder based on the following syntax:

Using this email address format, iRedMail will move the email into the IMAP folder name "foldername" instead of into the INBOX.
Any characters following the plus (+) sign are ignored by our servers and not a part of your email address.
So for the purpose of delivery, username+bank@nova.org and username@nova.org are the same address.
Capitalization does matter. "Amazon" is not the same as "amazon", they are two different folder names.
If for example, you sign up to recieve newsletters or advertisements at your favorite ecommerce web site with the address using

Then all emails from that organization will be filtered (moved) into your /ecom IMAP folder on the iRedMail server.
If you use this style of automatic filtering, it is wise to place a first rule in your sieve that supports the automatic filtering and prevents any other rule from acting on this automatic filter.

Low Priority Mail Filtering

This is the most powerful rule you can add to keep advertisements and newsletters from piling up in you INBOX.
It should be placed last in your list of filtering rules.
Our ANTI-SPAM appliance, the Proofpoint Server (PPS), places a Header Tag in emails that it believes to be Low Priority.
You may not agree with what the PPS thinks is a low priority email, and therefore should not set up this filter.
Don't forget to use IMAP and occastionally read the folder that you place the Low Priority emails into.

The FOLDER must be created first in the SOGo, before you create the rule. And you may have to refresh (CTRL-F5) your web client to get the FOLDER name to show up in the drop down list.