Mitch
In article <91d2085c-ed39-4942-9ee9-51c645684646@b64g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>, -hh <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com>wrote:

Steve de Mena
System folder is 4GB Library folder is 104 GB

-hh
Steve, how about a breakdown as to what's in that huge Library folder of yours?

FWIW, I do recognize that emailing around large attachments can start to suck up storage (/Library/Mail Attachments), but that sort of task is the classical domain of a **work** user and stuff like Powerpoint charts, which is not the domain of a typical home user. Even then, we're still talking about an area with fairly significant variability (based on duties), and in at least some environments, a "heavy" email user will be pushing <10GB/year. As such, having 100GB stored represents well over 10 years worth of email, since file size and bandwidth consumption from 5-10 years ago weren't close to what they are today.

Mitch
Bad maintenance and organization are no blame against the OS. If someone stores all mails and attachments, they don't understand what they are doing. That's a ridiculous place to store files. People should know better than to keep all mail, and should definitely know better than to keep every attachment there.

If the attached file is worth keeping, keep it someplace. Delete the original message. If you must keep the message, delete just the attached files; it's easy and a quite obvious part of keeping organized.

Stuff you don't need at all obviously shouldd never be kept; and you let the program delete that kind. It's simply amazing to me how many people just let everything build up without consideration.

So, HH, I'd suggest a year's worth of heavy e-mail should be closer to 100-500 MB per year assuming someone keeps only what they need. Ten seems so far gone it would be like just letting it store everything, and if you're going to do that, just archive every year. Don't make the program deal with an ever-increasing load.

As far as Steve's huge library, it seems something quite exceptional is being stored, and it is inappropriate to criticize the OS if he's keeping something clearly not part of Apple's plans in there. I know Music-program users like to keep huge instrument and sound libraries, but obviously building up those in the system is no criticism of the way the system runs. All my iWeb files come to 1.6 GB; that is probably much more than most people. Again, no commentary against the OS, since that weight comes from how much just that one feature is used. Nothing else is very large, (but I notice that my Sing that iTunes! lyrics/covers folder is 75 MB!)