It might be less confusing if attempts to read root's mail, e.g. with mail(1), would be guided further to the mailbox of the user who actually receives that by a single message archived in a (%ghost) /var/spool/mail/root; contents draft: --- From: root@localhost Subject: mail alias reminder Dear myself, this is to remind that root's mail is redirected to the first unprivileged user customarily created during installation so as to avoid privileged MUA. In case the "first user" isn't clear enough, let's figure out for sure: grep ^root: /etc/aliases P.S. be prudent and careful! ---