Module Two Tasks - Lists

 

Pros and Cons of email lists vs discussion boards?

In the red corner, weighing in at a hefty 600mb is the simple but effective email list and in the blue corner, a veritable welter weight - showing size does not matter is discussion board …… the crowd almost goes wild (please note all weights and personalities are completely fictional ;)).

An email list works by sending mail to a group of people with a common interest who have chosen to subscribe to it.  When a member sends a message to the lists address, the listserver program will automatically send it on to all other members, unless it is a moderated list, in which case it will need to wait for approval before being sent out.  The other members can then respond in turn.

A discussion board, on the other hand, requires you to log in each time you wish to read or post a message. 

So already there is a huge difference in size, depending on how active your chosen email list is, you could end up being bombarded by emails and it can be difficult to follow threads.  Discussion boards are usually well laid out and easy to follow, provided members follow the posting guidelines.  You can perform searches easily, sometimes choose to only view new posts or see posts from a certain date.

Can you tell who I have my money on?

What they do both have in common is longevity – be careful and mindful of what you write – it could come back to bite you on the bum!

Module Two Tasks - Email

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?

groucho.marx@	funnybone.com.au
User name	Domain name

I used to think that an user’s email address would tell me almost everything I needed to know, their name and possible clues to where it might have originated from.

But there is a whole other  world of information lurking in the email header.

Return-Path: <SBS1@SimplicityCRM.com>
Received: from sa007.segarassociates.com (simplicitycrm.com [202.89.55.97] (may be forged))
    by mail36.syd.optusnet.com.au (8.13.1/8.13.1) with ESMTP id n1HNoOHn021479
    for <jax@optus.com.au>; Wed, 18 Feb 2009 10:51:33 +1100
Received: from SA017 ([192.168.1.217]) by sa007.segarassociates.com with Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.3959);
     Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:46:18 +1300
To: jax@optus.com.au
From: SBS <Documentaries1@enews.com.au>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Reply-To: SBS <Documentaries1@enews.com.au>
Date: 18 Feb 2009 12:46:37 +1300
Subject: =?utf-8?B?W1NCUyBEb2N1bWVudGFyaWVzXSBJcyB0aGUgd29ybGQgYXQgYW4gZXh0cmFvcmRpbmFyeSB0dXJuaW5nIHBvaW50PyAg?=
Message-ID: <b696c53b4d424c4da913c888b35f52a8@SimplicityCRM.com>
X-Mailer: Simplicity Customer Interaction Studio 2.5
X-SA-CN: 30790CED-DCD2-4BB3-9837-B98E8BC6D45E
X-SA-CL: 0D781E5F-4A59-456D-A259-A12DEACC5FBB
Content-Class: urn:content-classes:message
content-type: multipart/mixed;
boundary=--boundary_132093_bb2ee6c7-6e4c-46fa-9a79-3cb6928059ec
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 17 Feb 2009 23:46:18.0625 (UTC) FILETIME=[EDE75F10:01C99159]

An email may travel through several computers before it gets to you, the header will list all the servers it passes through, meaning you should be able to trace it back to the original computer.  You can then use the IP address to track the original sender, and if you you need to, send off a complaint!

I found media temple a helpful site, especially for info on viewing the email header in different applications.

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

While the “To:” line is where you can list all the people who may need to respond to an email in some way, the “cc” (carbon copy) function means you can send the same email to a larger group of people who may need to know the information but don’t generally need to respond. 

The “bcc” (blind carbon copy) is similar to the cc with the exception that the addresses are not visible.  This is useful for protecting peoples email addresses and privacy and could be used for when you would rather not reveal who else is receiving the same email (can everyone say Watergate!).

The reply all function is a two-edged sword, great for email discussions, where everyone on the list needs the same information, downside is it looks remarkably like the reply to sender function and can often be mistakenly used, sending a whole lot of useless, time wasting and potentially embarrassing emails to unintended parties.

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

Try to ascertain what application they would use to open the attachment, that way you can ensure you send it in a compatible format.

Don’t always assume they will know there is an attachment to the email, state it in the body of the email and if necessary include any important information from the attachment.

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

I used to enter a fair amount of competitions  and so I had set up a rule where any emails with the word “congratulations” in the subject line went into a separate folder.  It wasn’t foolproof because I couldn’t control what the sender would put in the subject line, but I did find some nice surprises in there ;).

I also have different folders for different email addresses so when I retrieved all the messages from my ISP they would automatically be sorted into the various folders.

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

Because I share the computer, every user has their own folder under the main inbox.  I then create folders as I need them, for example, I will have one for Open Uni and under this I will have folders for curtin, swinburne, etc.  I also found it really handy for when I have to email myself with info or links, putting a code word in the subject line meant I would not have to trawl through email messages but it would be automatically sorted for me.

Life without the Net!!

After moving across town and being assured by a few isp's that connecting to ADSL2+ shouldn't be a problem, I gleefully contacted Optus to get myself reconnected.

Öh, we don't service that area."

This small fact had obviously escaped their notice when I first gave them the new address 4 weeks ago.....mmmmmmmmmm.

Move onto the next isp...

"Yes, you can have ADSL2+, just need to check your lines"

2 days later, a phone call to tell me that I couldn't get ADSL2+ (something about sharing a line and not enough copper) and it would take them a week to see if I could get ADSL......mmmmmm

NEXT.....Hello Telstra

After what seemed like a reassuring phone call and the expectation that a modem would be showing up at my door in the next 5 days, I did a little jig, unpacked another box and tried to find all unit notes ;) ;)

Meanwhile, on the other side of town.....

Another phone call to tell me that even though the new house if physically located less than 1km from a ADSL2+ enabled exchange there is over 3.5km of cabling between us which means transmission is degraded and my only options are wireless or the dreaded dial-up!!!

If I lost $60 I would be angry with myself, if I lost $60 kg I would consider it a miracle but the loss of 60gb left me despondant.

How do you complete an internet course when you don't have access to the internet??? Thankfully I have rediscovered the wonders of the local library and the quest for decent, affordable home access to the net continues.

FTP (Take 2)

I'm getting closer!! I can now get a list of files, but I can't access them....

Blinkenlights

That's no moon, that's a space station!"

Just like Samuel Morse revolutionising communication with the dots and dashes of morse code, towel.blinkinlights has forever changed the way I view "shift 8". Their artistry with the asterisk, the creativity of the comma and the delightful dashing of the ...........ummmm, dash had me in awe (of both their talent and time management skills).

FTP

After numerous attempts at connecting and getting the error message, connection timed out, I got a small taste of victory until another startling red error message failed to retrieve directory listing. But I'm not giving up ..... just like Arni said "I'll be back"

Telnet

Thank heaven for all the lovely little tips posted on the discussion board otherwise it would have been a frustrating task for me ie. "email note" doesn't sound at all like "email subject", which is much more understandable ;) In the end I got there and managed to send 2 emails to my curtin address 8).

Subject

Email fro DEAKIN UNI LIB

telnet deakin library search You searched for the AUTHOR: bennahum 2 AUTHORS found, with 2 entries; AUTHORS 1-2 are: 1 Bennahum David A 1936 ................................. 1 entry 2 Bennahum Ninotchka .................................... 1 entry

Using the run command took me back to "the day" and for a brief moment in time I was that guy from "Sneakers" ;) ;)