Pine is an IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) client and
    POP (Post Office Protocol) client which can access local VMS MAIL
    mail files as well as other mail files served by an IMAP server
    or POP3 server.

    If only local mail is to be accessed, no network connection
    is created, and no IMAP server or POP server is needed on the
    local system. If your system does not have any TCP/IP software
    installed, then you will receive an error message when you
    attempt any operation requiring TCP/IP access. To access mail
    files on a remote OpenVMS system, an IMAP server such as the PMDF
    IMAP server, or a POP server such as the PMDF POP server, must be
    running on that remote system. To access mail files on a remote
    UNIX system, the remote system must have an IMAP daemon (server)
    or POP daemon (server) running.

    Pine is also an NNTP (Network News Transport Protocol, RFC 977)
    client, and can be used to read news from NNTP servers like the
    ANU News program or many common UNIX NNTP servers. Of course, you
    have to know the name of one such system before you can use this
    capability. Ask your system or network manager for help.

    The pine view is that messages are stored in folders, and
    folders are stored in folder collections. Folder collections
    can be physically located on the local system, or on any remote
    system with an IMAP server. Regardless of what system a folder
    collection is physically located on, a pine user sees it as
    just another folder collection: a pine user can read messages
    in any of their folder collections and can save (move) messages
    between different folder collections. See under PMDF Pine Folders
    and Folder Collections for more details on folders and folder
    collections.

    Or a read-and-delete-only pine folder can correspond to the "new
    messages" folder on a remote system with a POP3 server. (The
    POP3 protocol does not provide access to multiple folders-it only
    provides access to the "new" messages, usually those in a special
    "new" sort of folder. The POP3 protocol also does not allow for
    moving messages into a POP3 folder.)