#582358 impossible to override offline mode when using network-manager

Package:
evolution
Source:
evolution
Description:
groupware suite with mail client and organizer
Submitter:
Torsten Landschoff
Date:
2025-08-17 17:47:22 UTC
Severity:
important
Tags:
#582358#5
Date:
2010-05-20 07:27:43 UTC
From:
To:
Hi Evolution packagers.

After upgrading my system yesterday, I was unable to read email using
evolution today. Everything related to working online (including the
"Work offline" menu item) was grayed out.

What's worse, there is no feedback from evolution as to why it would not
allow me to get my new email. After fighting pidgin on a netbook for
hours I guessed the problem is the same thing: Without asking the user
or leaving any loophole, the "$&%!"$ software relies on the indication
of network-manager if the system is online.

However, I did not willingly install network manager on this system. I
wanted to try the current KDE and installing kde pulled network manager
in. Given that I don't want a complex software managing my GBit local
ethernet adapter (ifup works fine, while network-manager has failed me
many times), I went ahead and removed network-manager and anything
related from my system.

After restarting evolution, I can now use it again.

Having to fight the system to tell it that the network is in fact
available feels like the worst days of Windows usage for me. Can we stop
going that "user-friendly" route?

I am not directly opposed to using network-manager as indication that
the system is offline. However, it should be easy to find out (using a
tooltip on the grayed menu entry, anything that pops up automatically).
I consider refusing to work without any indication as quite childish.


As you can see from the length of the email, this tripped a nerve for
me. I hope you can understand my point and coordinate with upstream to
improve the situation.

Thanks for your work!

Torsten

#582358#10
Date:
2010-05-21 06:43:26 UTC
From:
To:
Like it or not, people do want that. And, as you noticed, you're not
forced to use network-manager (as a matter of fact, I don't, which is
why I didn't really detected the network-manager support was disabled in
2.28).

If it's just an indication, it's useless. As I see it, the goal is to
prevent unneeded, time/power/cpu/network consuming connection, when you
know there's no chance they'll survive. If you don't like being
patronized (which I can get), yes, you should get rid of
network-manager.

Now, maybe an indication in the menu saying why evolution is offline
might be helpful (though “offline because offline” might not exactly be
helpful, and afaiui the system offline state could be set by something
else than network-manager). Please report upstream issues like this
directly on upstream bugzilla, I don't have time to handle all bug
reports on evolution stack, sorry.

Cheers,

#582358#15
Date:
2010-06-27 12:22:14 UTC
From:
To:
retitle 582358 impossible to override offline mode when using network-manager
forcemerge 582358 584200 587302
thanks

Doesn't this sound like #584200 or #582358?

Now, like for all the other bug reports, I don't have network-manager
(and I'm not interested in it), so I can't test. Maybe there's a bug and
people should be able to override the offline mode even when using
network-manager (though imho the whole point of NM is to give it your
network keys and let it do what it want, if you don't like it, don't use
it at all). But I have no way to check, so your best bet is to open the
bug *upstream* (there's now a text asking for that when using
reportbug), so you can explain exactly the wanted behavior and argue
with them (check before if there's no upstream issue already opened,
though)

Regards,

#582358#22
Date:
2010-06-27 12:22:14 UTC
From:
To:
retitle 582358 impossible to override offline mode when using network-manager
forcemerge 582358 584200 587302
thanks

Doesn't this sound like #584200 or #582358?

Now, like for all the other bug reports, I don't have network-manager
(and I'm not interested in it), so I can't test. Maybe there's a bug and
people should be able to override the offline mode even when using
network-manager (though imho the whole point of NM is to give it your
network keys and let it do what it want, if you don't like it, don't use
it at all). But I have no way to check, so your best bet is to open the
bug *upstream* (there's now a text asking for that when using
reportbug), so you can explain exactly the wanted behavior and argue
with them (check before if there's no upstream issue already opened,
though)

Regards,

#582358#29
Date:
2010-06-27 14:11:55 UTC
From:
To:
Le 27/06/2010 14:22, Yves-Alexis Perez a écrit :

Sorry, you're right.
offline mode.
However:
- Evo should look at interfaces not managed by NM;
- the user must be able to change this descision.
system may have several interfaces, some are managed by NM, other not.

Thank you.

Regards

#582358#32
Date:
2010-06-27 14:11:55 UTC
From:
To:
Le 27/06/2010 14:22, Yves-Alexis Perez a écrit :

Sorry, you're right.
offline mode.
However:
- Evo should look at interfaces not managed by NM;
- the user must be able to change this descision.
system may have several interfaces, some are managed by NM, other not.

Thank you.

Regards

#582358#57
Date:
2012-10-10 17:13:41 UTC
From:
To:
Dear Maintainer,

the installation of network-manager was enforced by dependencies to gnome
to my system and is also "suggested" by evolution.
But the connection to the internet/LAN is configured reliable by if-up.
So there is no need use network-manager, even it is installed.

Unfortunally evolution shows the "user friendlyness" of Windows 3.11:
It refuses to access the reachable internet!


Greetings
	Juergen