Brendan Bruno ’09 received an e-mail message from the System Administrator notifying him that he needed to clear out his e-mail before he could send or receive any new messages—he had 500 to 600 messages in his inbox. He complained, “The only thing I can say about the inbox size [at Choate] is that it’s ridiculous.” Brendan’s grievance is one of many similar problems that have arisen in the last few weeks. E-mails have been reportedly not sent, bounced back, or simply lost. Students and teachers alike have brought complaints concerning the small mailbox size to the office of Information Technology Services (ITS).
Some of the problems with e-mail delivery, or lack thereof, might be related to the finite memory size allotted to each user. The student quota on e-mails is currently 25 megabytes, “a bit on the small side, but not too shabby,” according to Director of ITS Andrew Speyer. In order to prevent the surprise of finding e-mails blocked, ITS routinely distributes a list to individuals who are using all their memory, warning them to clean out their inboxes.
However, inboxes should not be the only targets of email clean-up. Mr. Speyer observes, “Students are notoriously bad about deleting in three main areas: sent items, deleted items, and inbox; they should definitely clear out sent and deleted items.” Attachments can also dramatically decrease the available email space; students are advised that emails carrying large attachments should be deleted after the attachment is downloaded to Socrates. ITS maintains that students are responsible for routinely clearing out their e-mail. When Bruno asked Mr. Speyer for help, he was instructed to “delete some e-mails…which kind of helped,” according to Bruno.
Mr. Speyer acknowledges that the current Microsoft Exchange 2003 software is limiting. Students often do not have the time for regular e-mail housekeeping. ITS encourages students to use Microsoft Outlook (for PC users) or Microsoft Entourage (for Mac users) instead of the online client accessed through the E-mail tab on the CHIP homepage. These full clients [programs that can download e-mails] “give users a lot more control; they’re great for managing e-mails,” notes Mr. Speyer. Students can set up a number of features, such as automatic archiving, to quickly and easily organize their e-mails.
Many students affirm that the CHIP e-mail server, accessed through the E-mail tab, is excellent for brief conversations or messaging but is hardly ideal for long-term use, considering all the problems that have arisen through the online client. ITS believes that part of the solution is providing orientations to teach students how to set up the full client. Instructions can be found under the Resources tab in the ITS help window, according to Speyer. An upgrade to the e-mail server, scheduled this coming summer, may provide another part of the solution. Part of these summer plans include upgrading the current Microsoft Exchange 2003 version of the server to the Exchange 2007 version, which is closer to Outlook or Entourage in its format and functions. In addition to the upgrade, ITS plans to slightly expand the current student mailbox size.
Besides problems with full inboxes, students are also noticing that their messages are being bounced back or that their messages sometimes disappear—the email is recorded as sent, but never reaches the recipient. Teachers have stated that they are having similar problems. “From time to time, it has been impossible to open attachments from my students,” reports Mr. Philip Ventre.
This dilemma, in particular, is one that has only become of concern for ITS recently. ITS reports that a huge influx of spam has recently occurred. In the process of installing a new spam filter—an “LDAP server” that helps the current spam server determine which addresses are acceptable—there have been lapses when email connections have faltered and people have lost email messages.
Certain elements of a message—the absence of a subject line, for instance—trigger the spam filter. The message is simply erased before it can reach the recipient, or bounced back to the sender. While this occurrence has caused some inconveniences, since users did not realize the delivery failure until it was too late, ITS views it as their responsibility to ensure the online security of students. They prefer erring on the safe side if necessary.
Many students who experienced difficulties with the online client have turned to another solution: alternate e-mail servers. Gmail, Hotmail, and similar domains have become increasingly popular. Katherine Selberg ’10 says, “Sure, I have other e-mails that I check; Comcast works well for me.” These students forward e-mail messages from CHIP to their own e-mail address at another domain. These other servers are popular mostly because they have substantially larger storage space. Gmail, for example, has 266 times (and counting) the amount of mailbox space that Choate e-mail accounts have.
ITS does not encourage students to rely on an alternate, personal e-mail instead of CHIP. “People have a false sense of privacy about Gmail,” explains Mr. Speyer. “It should be noted that Google reads all the content of e-mails—at Choate, we can but we don’t read your e-mails.” As long as students are using the current e-mail server correctly, they should not have any difficulties. ITS tips include regularly cleaning out the aforementioned three areas of notice, as well as accessing e-mail through Outlook or Entourage.
Students have petitioned for greater mailbox sizes. However, ITS claims that the current size standards are created with careful consideration given to server size and database room, as well as comparison with other schools. Many of Choate’s peer preparatory schools share a standard regarding IT procedures, explained Mr. Speyer. Comparatively, Choate students’ mailbox sizes are “right on track,” according to Mr. Speyer. There are a few exceptions among the student body. News editors and students who work with photography are given larger mailbox sizes because their inboxes tend to fill up faster. Otherwise, teachers and administrators, who often average at 350 messages a day, are given the largest mailboxes.
With the indispensability of e-mail in our daily life, many Choate students fail to appreciate the complexity of the technology. “Considering everything that happens to an e-mail from when it is delivered to when it is received, it’s a wonder that any messages get sent at all,” observes Mr. Speyer. According to him, ITS is doing its best to provide an up-to-date e-mail infrastructure; the efficiency and yield of the system will nevertheless depend on the practices of an individual.
