Should I preserve the mailbox as well as the individual message?¶
Preserve mailbox context when the question extends beyond one message to a conversation, pattern, deletion, forwarding rule or account access. Do not collect an entire mailbox automatically when a focused scope can answer the question.
Message, mailbox and provider are separate sources¶
The native email carries content, headers, attachments and delivery information. Its mailbox can add drafts, Sent and Deleted items, related threads, folders and rules. Provider systems may separately hold message trace, sign-in, session, delegate and audit records that a mailbox export does not contain.
Compromise, repeated contact, hidden forwarding and disputed account control usually require more context than a single message. A narrow content or receipt question may not.
Define a proportionate preservation scope¶
Identify accounts, folders, correspondents, date range and the provider events needed to test realistic alternatives. A targeted export, hold, Message-ID search or preservation of rules and audit data may be more useful than years of unrelated correspondence.
Consider recipient and other recipient mailboxes as well as the claimed sender's. Record each source and act before short provider retention expires.
The point to remember
Preserve the individual email for the message, mailbox context for the conversation and provider records for account and delivery activity.
