Read-only archived maildir tree from Linux

Question

I have archived my old mails (from another system which goes back forever). I do NOT want to import it anywhere, but I do want to be able to read it. Ideally it should also work when I make everything read-only because I don't like archived data to change. Also I don't want to keep it on my NAS-system and not move it into any home directory.

It seems that Thunderbird is not able to do it, so how can I read those mails?

Answer 1

If you are willing to switch to evolution it does support maildir style accounts. Add a little bit of permissions and you should be set.

Another option i can think of is to use MhonArc to create mailman style web pages with your archived mail.

Answer 2

Have you tried Claws Mail or Mutt? They have full support for mail archives in maildir format. You just have to point them to the right directory. You probably should remove write permissions from all files and directories in your archive so that they do not try to write there.