this is one of the coolest new options we have.
we can download our messages to our own computers before deleting them from our board boxes. that's a great benefit to members who need to keep their messages for longer than the box limits permit.
the format you choose will determine how easy it will be to look through them later. Personally, i always download mine using the .CSV format. It will automatically open as a spreadsheet if you have software such as Excel (or one of the many others) installed on your computer. Since spreadsheets are sooooo easily imported to database management software, the possibilities for easy organization and retrieval of specific messages are pretty kewl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._Free_Software
the .XML format can also be imported to spreadsheet or database management software, but the process is not automatic and the results are not as convenient.
if you download using the TEXT format, you can open and read the files in just about any wordprocessing software, but organizing them would be a pain.