Mutt (software)
Mutt is a text-based email client for Unix-like systems. It was originally written by Michael Elkins in 1995 and released under the GNU General Public License. Initially it resembled elm, nowadays the program most similar to it may be slrn.Mutt supports most mail formats (notably both mbox and Maildir) and protocols (POP3, IMAP, NNTP etc). It also includes MIME support, notably full PGP/GPG integration.
It is rather configurable: it has hundreds of configuration directives and commands. It allows for changing all the key bindings and making keyboard macross for complex actions, as well as the colors and the layout of most of the interface.
Mutt is fully controlled with the keyboard, and has support for mail threading, meaning one can easily move around long discussions such as in mailing lists. New messages are composed with an external text editor by default (unlike pine which prefers pico).
The mutt slogan is "mutt sucks less". The makers and users of mutt claim that while all email clients are flawed, mutt has less flaws than any of the competition. The application of "foo sucks less" has been observed making its way into mainstream hacker jargon as a form of compliment."Mutt Sucks Less"