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| Accessing The Internet By OLC E-mail |
| Guide to Online Internet Access |
| Version 3 - April 05, 2006 |
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Copyright (c) 2004, 2005, 2006, Brett Bump
bbump@olc.edu
All rights reserved. Permission is granted to duplicate and
distribute copies of this document provided the copyright notice
and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.
A Brief History
--------------------
The last couple of years that I have been running email for the college
we have gone through at least three (3) different user name schemes for
our users. At the beginning of this semester we again decided to
reorganize the list to be more compatible with the system that the
registrar is currently using. Another reason that this change was made
was because of many of the long and same names that we had to deal
with. The addition of the student id at the end of the student email
accounts should make this much easier to deal with.
This Mini FAQ is not meant to be a general reference for email
questions for the Internet, there are many others with much more
information and elaborate than this one. I suggest for further FAQs,
you visit www.faqs.org or use one of the many search engines on the
Internet to find out more.
The Basics
--------------------
1. What is this Mini FAQ about and, who should be reading it?
This FAQ was written to answer most of the email questions we get
regarding the email server for Oglala Lakota College, it's Staff,
Faculty, Students, and anyone else that has an account on the
college's email server. This FAQ was also written because the
email server has gone through two (2) major design revisions
within the last month, so many of the new features will not be
apparent until the user reads this FAQ.
2. I am a new employee at the college, how do I get an email
account?
Hate to say it, but the fastest way is to send us an email. You
can send an email to postmaster@olc.edu or support@olc.edu and
most likely get a reply within an hour. If we don't know who you
are we will most likely ask Jonnie Clifford, she is our resident
expert on who the new people are so that we can get you an
account as soon as possible. You can also call the switchboard
at: (605) 455-6000 and ask for computer support, or call the tech
line directly at (605) 455-1713. That will likely get you routed
to someone that will get your account set up.
3. I am a new student at the college, how do I get an email account?
If you have gone through the registration process, you already
have an account on the system. The new student email accounts
all use the same format. The first letter of your first name
followed by your last name, followed by your student id number.
The total length of your account cannot exceed sixteen (16)
characters, and your last name will be trimmed if it is too long
in order to fit your student id number. In the case of a last
name with hyphens or multiple words, only the first word will be
used. An example:
John Doe From-Albuquerque with student id #1234 would be:
jdoe1234@olc.edu
4. I am a student/faculty, I have my account, what is my password?
All student email account passwords are initially setup using the
same user name id as the account password. John Doe (from above)
would use the password: jdoe1234 to log into the email server.
Faculty and staff accounts will usually have their password
passed to them by word of mouth from an associate, or by a
technician over the phone.
5. I am on one of the college center computers, how do I setup an
email client (such as Microsoft Outlook) so that I can access my
email?
The short answer is YOU DON'T. The only time you should setup an
email client for your account is if you own the computer, or you
have a computer that has been assigned to you or your office. If
you are on one of the college center computers you should always
use the web client to access your email.
6. What is the Internet address of the Oglala Lakota College Email
server?
This one is easy. From any web browser: http://mail.olc.edu or
if you are setting up an email client to use imap or pop3
protocols, set your incoming email server as mail.olc.edu and
your outgoing smtp server as mail.olc.edu.
7. I can get connected to the email server with a browser, but I get
the message "Authentication failed". Why can't I log in?
Make sure that your caps lock key is not pressed. Make sure that
you are using just your login name: jdoe1234 in the login field.
Make sure that there are no spaces in your login name. Make sure
that you have typed in your password correctly as you will not
see it in the password field. If you are still having problems,
give us a call (605) 455-1713 or send an email (if you can) to:
postmaster@olc.edu or support@olc.edu.
8. I've logged into my account using the web client and there are
two (2) folders already in my account. Should I delete them, why
do I have spam/virus folders?
NO! There are special features that you can read about later in
this FAQ that will let you do this, but now is not the right
time. Let the protection mechanisms that are in place work for
you until you know more about the system before you unleash
Internet viruses onto your computer.
Every account on the system is created with these two (2) default
folders that exist only on the email server (not your computer).
These folders are placed there to reduce the amount of spam that
you may receive and to protect the computer that you are working
on from email that is sent to you with embedded viruses. You
should occasionally check the contents of these folders to reduce
the email in them and to make sure that there isn't something in
there that you actually needed.
9. There is an email from my friend in my virus folder, should I
open it?
NO! All of the latest virus email are designed to infect your
friends computers and then spread to his friends (that's you).
They also use fake headers that say "Email scanned, no virus
found." so that you will open it and infect your computer. If
your friend really wanted to send you a file that has an
executable attachment, they should point you to an ftp site.
10. I don't like my password, don't think the default password that
was given to me is safe enough, don't remember my password. Can
you tell me what my password is, change my password for me, help
me to change my password myself?
If you have never changed your password it is most likely the
same one that we originally gave you, or you gave us. Try that
first before you call to ask what your password is. We don't
know your password (it is encrypted) so if the original doesn't
work then it is lost. Yes, we can put a new password in for you,
or better yet you can change your password yourself at:
http://mail.olc.edu/passwd.php
Intermediate Email
--------------------
11. Are there special email accounts that I can send email to if
there are needs that I have that this FAQ does not address?
Yes, we have all of the normal accounts that most Internet
service providers would have, plus a few they might not have.
These email accounts are available for technical service issues:
abuse@olc.edu (for abusive or threatening email you receive)
blackboard@olc.edu (for administrative help on http://bb.olc.edu)
moodle@olc.edu (for administrative help w/http://moo.olc.edu)
postmaster@olc.edu (for email accounts on http://mail.olc.edu)
support@olc.edu (for general computer support from TSS dept)
webmaster@olc.edu (for web design help on http://www.olc.edu)
12. Is there a headstart/staff/student email list that I can use so
that I can start sending email to other faculty/students etc.?
Yes, the main web page at http://www.olc.edu has links on the
left side under "College Information" to all of these pages,
however you will need the "User Name" and "Password" for each one
if you intend to view them. This security measure was put in
place to reduce the amount of outside spam into the system.
These pages are updated every night and the passwords will be
changed every semester (consult Jonnie, Billie, or your dept
chair for access).
The direct links to these pages are:
http://mail.olc.edu/~bbump/users/headstart(Headstart Program)
http://mail.olc.edu/~bbump/users/staff (Adjunct/Faculty/Staff)
http://mail.olc.edu/~bbump/users/students (Students)
http://mail.olc.edu/~bbump/users/listserv (Listserv Lists)
13. What is a listserv and why should I be concerned with listserv
email?
A listserv is a mailing list program for communicating with other
people who have subscribed to the same list. Using email, you can
participate in listservs pertaining to your topics of interest.
When you submit a message to the server, your message is relayed
to all those on the listserv. You receive messages from other
participants via email.
You should be concerned with listserv email because you already
belong to at least one listserv on the system. As an adjunct
instructor you can send and receive email from the listserv that
is sent to the adjunct instructors. As a full time employee you
will belong to the allstaff listserv which can send and receive
email to both the adjunct and allstaff listservs.
14. Why do I have an email in my inbox that is addressed to someone
other than myself?
Normally, email in your inbox that has a different email address
other than yours is considered spam. But it could also be that
this email was sent from a listserv that you are subscribed to,
or email from someone sending an email through the BlackBoard
server. An email that is addressed To: allstaff@olc.edu that
arrives in your inbox comes from the listserv that you are
subscribed to. Email that comes From: jdoe1234@olc.edu and sent
To: jdoe1234@olc.edu is actually coming from the BlackBoard
server (check the header). This is not a very good design, but
that is the way BlackBoard is currently sending the email out and
I've had to modify our systems to work within those limitations.
It will be confusing the first time you see this so be on the
lookout for it when it happens.
15. Is there a list of listervs and listserv users for the email
server and the topics that they discuss?
Yes, see question number 12 above. These are the current
listservs on the email server:
Activities Committee accommittee@olc.edu
Adjunct Instructors adjunct@olc.edu
All Staff/Faculty allstaff@olc.edu
All Student Accounts allstudents@olc.edu
Assessment Committee ascommittee@olc.edu
Bookstore at Piya Wiconi bookstore@olc.edu
Bush Grant Committee bush@olc.edu
College Department Chairs chairs@olc.edu
College Center Counselors counselors@olc.edu
College Center Directors directors@olc.edu
Distance Learning dlsubcommittee@olc.edu
College Full Time Faculty faculty@olc.edu
College Faculty Discussions faculty_forum@olc.edu
Graduate Department graduatedept@olc.edu
Nursing Health Advisory healthadvise@olc.edu
He Sapa Staff hesapa@olc.edu
He Sapa Instructors hesapainstructors@olc.edu
He Sapa Students hespastudents@olc.edu
NASA Honors Program honorsprogram@olc.edu
Instructional Affairs Committee iacommittee@olc.edu
Institutional Development Committee idcommittee@olc.edu
Institutional Review Board irb@olc.edu
Information Technology Dept itdept@olc.edu
KOLC-TV Media Center kolc@olc.edu
Nursing Staff nursing@olc.edu
Pejuta Haka Students pejutahakastudents@olc.edu
Personnel Office personnel@olc.edu
Registrar Office registrar@olc.edu
Rural Grant Committee ruralgrant@olc.edu
Strategic Planning splanning@olc.edu
Student Services Committee sscommittee@olc.edu
Technical Support Committee techcommittee@olc.edu
Web Designers webdesigner@olc.edu
Committee listservs are open to subscription requests.
16. I have been assigned to one of the allstaff committees that meet
each month. Who do I contact to get my name on one of these
lists or is there a way that I can do this myself?
The listserv software uses the standard request schemes that
other popular listserv software (such as majordomo) uses to
process user requested email. The quickest way to add your email
account to an existing listserv is to send an email to the
request address with the Subject: subscribe on the subject line.
Example:
From: jdoe1234@olc.edu
To: sscommittee-request@olc.edu
Subject: subscribe
You can also send an email to the postmaster@olc.edu account and
I will be able to add you to a listserv, but this takes more work
for both of us.
17. Is there a way that I can remove myself from a listserv without
sending the postmaster an email to do this for me?
Yes, again using the request address for the listserv that you
are currently subscribed to, only using unsubscribe. Example:
From: jdoe1234@olc.edu
To: sscommittee-request@olc.edu
Subject: unsubscribe
18. Why can't I subscribe to the xyz Department listserv?
These committee listservs are open to subscription requests:
Activities Committee accommittee@olc.edu
Assessment Committee ascommittee@olc.edu
Bush Grant Committee bush@olc.edu
College Department Chairs chairs@olc.edu
Distance Learning dlsubcommittee@olc.edu
College Full Time Faculty faculty@olc.edu
College Faculty Discussions faculty_forum@olc.edu
Instructional Affairs iacommittee@olc.edu
Institutional Development idcommittee@olc.edu
Strategic Planning splanning@olc.edu
Student Services sscommittee@olc.edu
Technical Support Committee techcommittee@olc.edu
Web Designers webdesigner@olc.edu
Some listservs are locked by default (most departments). Check
the listserv lists page (number 12 above) to make sure the
listserv your are looking at is open to subscribtion requests.
If you feel you should be included into a specific department
listserv, send an email to postmater@olc.edu with this request
and it will be forwarded to that department for approval.
19. Why can't I send email to a listserv that I am not subscribed to?
Each listserv is configured to providing distribution to and from
their own specific users. There is no reason you cannot
subscribe to multiple committees if you feel you have something
to share with that listserv. The exception to this are the
department listservs that are open to foreign email by default.
Bookstore at Piya Wiconi bookstore@olc.edu
Bush Grant Committee bush@olc.edu
Graduate Department graduatedept@olc.edu
NASA Honors Program honorsprogram@olc.edu
Institutional Review Board irb@olc.edu
Information Technology Dept itdept@olc.edu
KOLC-TV Media Center kolc@olc.edu
Personnel Office personnel@olc.edu
Registrar Office registrar@olc.edu
Rural Grant Committee ruralgrant@olc.edu
20. How often are the adjunct/allstaff/allstudent/headstart listservs
updated?
These are special listservs that are rebuilt every night between
2AM-3AM in the morning. Any new staff or student account that is
entered during the day will be updated during the night for those
specific listservs. All other listservs are static and need to
be updated manually by the user or the postmaster.
Advanced Email
--------------------
21. The email that I get from my BlackBoard classes is confusing as I
am never completely sure if this is email from a student or spam.
Is there a way I can segregate my BlackBoard email from my normal
inbox email?
Yes. From the web client you can create and delete folders on
the mail server for different purposes. Some of these folders
have been specifically designed for sorting purposes. To
automatically sort your BlackBoard email into a specific folder,
create a folder named: blackboard
22. I am on a number of listservs from other organizations. Is there
a way to segregate email with a precedence of bulk?
Yes. From the web client, create a folder named: bulk
Please be advised that listserv email from humserv uses the
precedence "bulk" header and will therefore sort your humserv
listservs to this folder if you create it.
23. I am on a number of listservs from other organizations. Is there
a way to segregate email with a precedence of junk?
Yes. From the web client, create a folder named: junk
24. I am on a number of listservs from other organizations. Is there
a way to segregate email with a precedence of list?
Yes. From the web client, create a folder named: list
Please be advised that listserv email from olc uses the
precedence "list" header and will therefore sort your olc
listservs to this folder if you create it.
25. How am I protected from Internet spam and what classifies the
spam that I DO get in my spam folder from everything else I
receive?
The olc mail server uses a new spam prevention method that was
designed by Evan Harris only one (1) year ago called greylisting.
This is the first line of defense and should reduce the amount of
spam and virus email that you receive significantly. Greylisting
is not without it's drawbacks however, so I have designed a user
configurable function for those who do not receive alot of spam
and would like to turn greylisting off. By default greylisting
is on. To turn it off, create a mail folder (on the mail server)
in your directory called: nogreylist
Greylisting will then be disabled for your account the next time
the server recycles the greylist (around 3am in the morning).
Anything left in your spam folder is classified as spam when it
does NOT have your address in the header field.
The exception to this rule is email that you receive from the
BlackBoard server, or email with precedence bulk, junk, or list.
26. What classifies the email that I receive in my virus folder?
Normally, any virus sent to the email server is blocked by the
ClamAV anti-virus filtering system and you would never see it.
Any executable file that ClamAV believes might be safe would be
dropped into your virus folder for the user to check.
Any email that is sent with an executable Windows attachment is
considered virus and sent directly to your virus folder. This
method of prevention is more preferable than scanning your email
for a virus as this stops everything executable that is sent. If
you really need a Windows executable file, email is the worst way
to transmit it, go download it from a reputable site.
27. Can I delete my spam or virus folders and what happens if I do?
Just like the blackboard, bulk, junk and list folders from above,
if you delete any of these, those email will not be sorted and
delivered directly into your inbox. You have been warned.
28. I am still receiving a lot of spam into my inbox, even with all
of the preventatives that have been mentioned above. Is there
any way that I can eliminate these?
If you are still receiving spam email then your email address has
been circulated to many lists and you will see that the email is
addressed directly to you. There are two (2) methods left at
your disposal that you could consider using.
The first is to use the qsf (lightweight statistical spam filter)
that has been installed on the system and is somewhat complicated
to use (you will have to train the filter) and I am currently the
only one using it. Email postmaster@olc.edu for more
information.
The second method is to create a reject list which would normally
be reserved for harassing email, but will work just the same.
29. I would like to setup a reject list for email that I receive from
users/spammers/domains that I don't want to appear in my inbox.
Is there a way that I can setup this reject list?
Yes. Create two web folders on the mail server with these names.
name: rejected
name: rejectsetup
The first folder is where the email from your reject list will
land once this is correctly enabled. The second folder is just a
temporary folder to extract your reject list from.
Send an email to your self with a plain text file mime attachment
containing the rejects that you want to exclude from your inbox.
The rejects can either be a full email address or just the
domain. The name of the attachment must be: reject-from
File the email with the "reject-from" attachment into the new
rejectsetup folder.
Send an email to your self with the Subject: reject-request The
reject-from file should now show up in your main mail folder and
you can delete the rejectsetup folder.
If you would like to see an example of the reject-from file that
the postmaster is using (for experimental purposes only), please
check out the referring page to this FAQ.
30. I am an advanced user, I run my own mail server or filter my own
email on another domain somewhere else. I am not worried about
any spam or virus email that would be sent through to me from the
olc mail server and would like to forward all my email to said
domain. Is there a way that I can forward my olc email to get
this accomplished?
Yes. Create a web folder on the mail server with this name.
name: forwardsetup
Send an email to your self with a plain text file mime attachment
containing the email address that you want your email to forward
to. The name of the attachment must be: forward
File the email with the email "forward" attachment into the new
forwardsetup folder.
Send an email to your self with the Subject: forward-request Your
email should now forward to the new address and you can delete
the forwardsetup folder.
Please be advised that once you have forwarded your email to some
other location there is no way for "you" to reverse this process.
FAQ Disclaimer
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I disclaim everything. The contents of this article might be totally
inaccurate, inappropriate, misguided, or otherwise perverse - except
for my name (you can probably trust me on that).
Copyright (c) 2004, 2005, 2006, by Brett Bump, all rights reserved.
This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, web
site, or BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes
this copyright statement.
This FAQ may be distributed as class material on diskette or CD-ROM as
long as there is no charge (except to cover materials).
This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain.
This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or compilations
without express permission from the author.
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Brett Bump - bbump@olc.edu
