Fetchmail

Fetchmail is a utility found on many Unix-like systems used to retrieve e-mail from a remote POP mail server to the user's local system.

Whilst widely used, it is perhaps more significant as the model its author, Eric S. Raymond, used to discuss his theories of "bazaar" software development in a widely-read essay on software development methodologies, The Cathedral and the Bazaar.

Many people have criticised fetchmail's design , its number of security holes , and that it was prematurely put into "maintenance mode" .