- Is it possible to have e-mail delivered in the
form: user@department.uab.edu ?
- Our first answer: user@uab.edu is even shorter!
- BUT, if you have a SINGLE departmental e-mail server AND
you desire this service, contact US@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu
and request creation of an MX record for your e-mail server. You will
still need a registered, fully qualified (4 part XXX.XXX.uab.edu) name
for your server; an MX record exists in addition to the full domain name.
- Be aware that you may need to know how to configure your e-mail server
so that (a) it will accept the MX'd name and that (b) return e-mail addresses, if created by your server, are set to
"user@department.uab.edu".
- What happens to our department's e-mail if our
e-mail server is down temporarily?
- Outgoing messages may continue to be delivered without problems, even
when the server is down, because the user can create messages and send
them out through vera.dpo.uab.edu.
- Incoming messages will not bounce back immediately to the sender. It
is "standard operating procedure" for e-mail systems to attempt
to deliver correctly addressed mail for at least 3 days before giving up
and bouncing back to the sender.
- How can people in my department obtain a
"short" email address?
- Do I need to install and manage a modem pool inside
my department so our users can receive e-mail and do other work from home
or while traveling?
No, you do not need to install and manage your own modem pool. Specific details are highly dependent on how computers are configured
and used within your department; however, all UAB faculty, staff, students and alumni using POP server, NT-server, or IPX-server based e-mail can use a CampusCW
dial-in account to send and receive e-mail. NT-server and Novell-server
systems are also capable of supporting access to on-campus files and other
department computer services, using CampusCW.
- I just moved everyone to a new e-mail server. Why
can't DC/NS just forward all our mail for us?
- The user's e-mail address (user@machine.dept.uab.edu) is a combination
of their user name (user) and computer name (machine.dept.uab.edu)
. Unfortunately, if you set up user accounts using different user names,
there is no way for DC/NS to know which old name matches which
new name. Nor can DC/NS make the old e-mail address "go away".
Remember, your users' e-mail address may reside in multiple personal address
books, or be activated if someone hits "reply to" in an old e-mail
message.
- Problems resulting from the installation of a new e-mail server can
be avoided by PLANNING BEFORE MAKING CHANGES. Please read
"Recommended procedure for changing, moving, or retiring
a department e-mail server".
- Why is the UAB Electronic Phonebook set up so each
person has to manage their own account? What about group administration?
The UAB Electronic Phonebook is indeed "user centric". Advantages
of this approach include:
- Users are free to change their own passwords, preferred e-mail server,
and some other information.
- UAB Electronic Phonebook listings come directly from official Human Resources
(HURS) and Student (STARS) databases, and are updated daily. As "official"
records, they serve as the basis for present and future services which
will make use of the same user name (also referred to as alias)
and password. As e-mail administrator, you should encourage users to know
about this service, select their own alias, and keep up with their own
password.
- If there is some benefit to your department for a simultaneous change
to entries for a large number of users, please contact
US@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu to discuss your
requirements.
- Is there a way for one person to create entries
for our department in the UAB Electronic Phonebook, instead of asking everyone
to do their own?
Yes; this works ONLY for CREATING entries, not CHANGING
entries. You will need :
- each person's SS# and birthdate, and their permission to use this information
- their preferred alias (3-8 letter nickname) (and maybe
a 2nd and 3rd choice, in case the 1st choice is taken).
NOTE: it is best for each user to select their own alias, rather than someone
else choosing it for them.
- their preferred strong password. A password must be set for each
user. NOTE: it is best for each user to select their own password.
- the correct DNS name or IP address of their e-mail server (the fully qualified hostname of the machine
at which they receive their e-mail, for example: mserv.dept.uab.edu )
- Use the web page: http://www.dpo.uab.edu/set_alias_fast.html
- Does DC/NS have a record or copy of every e-mail
message that arrives and leaves UAB?
No, we don't, nor is it even possible to do so as currently configured.
To understand why this is so, please consider the following:
SMTP based e-mail (Internet e-mail) remains at the sending location until
the message can be successfully delivered directly to the receiving location.
The messages are not held in any intermediate locations.
Many e-mail servers simply hold messages long enough for the user to pick
up and move to their desktop; if the user is checking quite frequently,
messages do not stay on the server for long.
- Why is the time stamp wrong on this e-mail message? Don't you guys know what time it is?(OR) The message is stamped
11:00 AM but I didn't get it until 3:00. Why didn't you deliver my mail sooner?
For reasons similar to those given just above, DC/NS does not time-stamp every e-mail message. The time, recorded in the message header, is put inside the message by the computer from which the message originates. Each machine through which delivery is routed will record its name and the time according to that machine's clock. There may be no DC/NS computers involved, at all, in delivering the message to you. If any of the computer's clocks are wrong (and there are many computers out there with incorrect time settings) you will get an inaccurate time stamp. There may be true delays during mail delivery. Typical delays can be caused by:
- Some e-mail servers are configured to send messages out only every 15 minutes, or every 3 hours, or after midnight ...., so that the message might have been held on its way to you, on purpose.
- If any of the machines between the sending computer and your e-mail server are temporarily off-line, there could be up to a three day delay due to problems between sender and receiver.
- Can DC/NS track down who sent an offensive e-mail
message?
Sometimes - and we are certainly interested in hearing about any "junk
e-mail" ("spam") or other offensive e-mail that might be received on the UAB campus. The only way we can hope to track down who is responsible for offensive e-mail is if we have access to the full Received headers within each e-mail message. If you destroy the message, you will destroy our only clues.
There are ways for a sophisticated hacker to disguise the true originating
location of e-mail messages; in those cases, we can at least contact the
Internet service provider involved and request that they prevent a recurrence
or be blocked from sending messages onto campus.
