I just CVS updated evolution and noticed this in the ChangeLog:
2000-12-01 Dan Winship <danw@helixcode.com>
* session.c (mail_session_remember_password): Writes out passwords
(to .gnome_private) in our patented proprietary "Best Awesome
Super Encryption 64" ("BASE64") format which could not possibly
ever be cracked by even the most cryptographically knowledgeable
five-year-olds.
(mail_session_init): Load remembered passwords at startup.
(mail_session_forget_passwords): Erase them from disk as well as
memory.
Heh. At least they finally got that feature in... it'd been bugging me for awhile, having to type in my mail password all the time. 
