[ale] Best method of madness to handle IMAP

[skotchman at gmail.com (Scott Castaline)]

Possibly a dumb question but I'm going to take a stab at it anyway. 
What's the best method of handling IMAP email (particularly gmail) with 
client folders to include local folders?  Client specifically is 
Thunderbird but a generic explanation would be fine. Also with gmail use 
of filtered views in place of physical folders, am I better off using 
the filters within Thunderbird or just gmail?