Module 2 - Email Task

Email Task

Like the majority of you I am a regular email user. I manage my email between Microsoft Outlook and Gmail with an IMAP connection between them. Looking at the email module and online tutorial from this context allowed me to easily understand the more technical components of the task. However, I did gain very helpful tips from module 2.1 of the lesson notes. Of particular interest was the information on how to use effective subjects and replies. With this is mind I noted how many email users at my workplace(previously including myself:)) have poor skills in this area. I am now applying these new skills in the workplace and have noticed more appropriate response timeframes to my emails!!

1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

Th email address of the sender provides information in relation to who sent the message. For example, the username component of a message may contain a username of an individual of may in fact be a name of a distribution list of which you may be one of many recipients. The origin of a message could be depicted by the domain component of the email address. It may indicate a company name or an educational institution such which would include 'edu' in the domain name. Additionally, the country which the domain is registered in is usually apparent in most email addresses exclusive of web mail based addresses.

2. In what cases would you find it useful to use 'cc' and 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?

When sending an email you need to determine the recipients and the context that you wish the recipients  to receive you email or reply in. The use of the three functions of email are up to the user's discretion however a user should try to follow email etiquette. Uses of these functions could be as follows:

1. CC - The carbon copy function is used to inform the cc'd recipient of the email but not request a reply. It may also be used to advise the primary receiver that others are aware of the email.
2. BCC -the blind carbon copy function is used to hide the recipients email addresses. Its primary uses are to provide privacy when sending an email to more than one person so that all the other individuals email addresses are not visible to the whole group. In addition it may be used to prevent the recipient addresses being identified by Spam programs. Finally, if you want to send an email to an individual and hide that you are also sending it to other individuals you may use BCC. However some email users do consider this as not polite and underhanded.
3.  Reply to All - A useful scenario for the use of this function is when you intend for your message replay to reach the same interned audience in the same way the original message does. For example if you receive a message asking for your opinion on a subject and you would like to replay to the sender and also illicit responses out of the other recipients  reply to all would be an appropriate and efficient way to do this.

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send can be easily opened by the receiver?

The most significant issues with opening attachments can be put down to incompatibilities in versions of software as well as the use of applications which are present on one computer such as the senders but not present on the receivers. An example of a version issue is with Microsoft word. Word 2007 produces a file extension called 'docx' where as word 2003 and earlier only uses the 'doc' extension. Although there is a patch that the 2003 user can download to open the docx file, it is somewhat time consuming to do so. To prevent such a situation from occuring the sender can ask the reciever  what version they are using prior to sending the attachment. The sender can use a backwards compitable mode within their application to send the appropriate version of document.

To address the example of the sender not having the same applications as the receiver, the sender should ask the recevier what applications they are using prior to sending the attachment. Another helpful option is for the sender to use applications that are common to most computer environments or attachments  that can be opened by freeware applications that are easily downloaded from the internet. Examples of these are PDF (Adobe Acrobat Reader), PPT, DOC or even MPP. Microsoft Powerpoint, Word and Project all have freeware downladed provided by Microsoft for reading these files. If these options don't suite the user than a simple text based document such as .RTF or TXT will be compatible to all envirnonments. From the receiver's perspective you should always ensure you are using a MIME supported email client.

4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

The main filtering process that occurs with my email is the filtering of Spam messages. I have a spam filter which is part of my security suite. It works based on pre-programmed alogrithms built into the application. Its main functions are shown below:

The primary filter I use is the one for content as pictured above. The Alogrithm which is set by the level of filtering chosen is a software generated function and not controlled by the user. A downside to this is that on a few occasions emails that are not spam end up in the junk mail filter.

I also use rules for mail forwarding for redirecting emails from my home email account to my work email account based on the sender. I also have email rules on my University email accounts that forward messages to my home email account. This is quite handy to have as I am currently enrolled in 3 courses at 3 different Universities.

5. How have you organised the structure of your email and why?

The approach I have taken with managing my email is to construct 3 primary folders under my inbox. These folders are 'Urgent', 'Important' and 'Routine'. When I receive an email in my inbox I rate its priority according to one of the three folders and move it accordingly. All emails remain in these folders until they have been addressed. Once this has happened I move them to a second set of folders located within a separate PST file which is archived every 12 months. For example I have a 2008 archive and a 2009 archive. Within these archives I have sub folders which are subject related. For example I have a receipts folder, jokes folder (of course) and a university folder. These folders only contain emails that have already been actioned. I also keep a copy of the last 3 years worth of archives on my PC and simply open the archive if required. However, I only keep the current year archive open permanently.