IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol.
Farbyte offers fully compliant IMAP hosting services.
It is a method of accessing electronic mail or bulletin board messages that are kept on a mail server.
In other words, it permits a "client" email program to access remote message stores as if they were local.
IMAP clients can be configured to only download the "header" information, as opposed to the full message.
This can save bandwidth and enables quicker processing of the mail by your client.
