When you change your e-mail address, you can be faced with any of the following problems:

• How will your correspondents know your new e-mail address?
• What will happen to mail that is still going to your old e-mail address?
• How to avoid having any message "get lost" ?

SOLUTION:

The best solution is to register in the UAB Electronic Phonebook. Advantages of using the UAB Electronic Phonebook are described here, in the section entitled What can DC/NS do for You?

The ideal sequence of events for changing your e-mail address is as follows:

1. Arrange E-MAIL FORWARDING on your old mail server; this is most easily done when moving from one university owned mail server to another. The specific instructions vary according to what kind of e-mail system you have been using, but most e-mail systems do have some way to automatically forward e-mail. From the time forwarding is established, no more new messages can go into your old mailbox.

   If you have just changed Internet Service Provider (for example, from CampusCWIX to AOL), you have a new e-mail address but cannot arrange for forwarding since your old account no longer exists.

2. Change the host-based e-mail address (your real address) in the UAB Electronic Phonebook as follows:
   • Go to http://www.uab.edu/phonebook/
   • Click the Change Information button.
   • Login with your ALIAS and PASSWORD. If you've forgotten your password, please call 934-3540 between the hours of 8:00 and 5:00 M-F to request a password reset.
   • Scroll down until you see a white box labeled "Real, host-based e-mail address"
   • Put your new, host-based e-mail address into the box.
   • Click "Change Information" located at the bottom of the screen.
   • It is a good idea to send yourself an e-mail message at your short uab.edu address to make sure it is set correctly.

3. Use your e-mail program to check your old e-mail account one last time. This should clear all unread messages.

4. Reconfigure your e-mail program so that it will now check for mail at your new e-mail address.

5. Reconfigure your e-mail program so that the FROM: line uses your name@uab.edu address; doing do means you will always be sending a working address from here on out.

6. If you were not able to arrange e-mail forwarding, you should request that your old e-mail account be deleted immediately after you've completed the steps above. Any messages addressed to your old address will bounce back to the sender, who will then know you did not get the message. If you do not forward e-mail and you do not delete your account, mail messages will continue to accumulate in your mailbox.