OCMailOverview

Oberlin College’s New E-Mail System powered by Google

Background

• Current system reached “end of life”

• Issues of: spam, quota, viruses

• Options

• Upgrade existing system

• Outsource

• Many other colleges and universities have gone with Google (Arizona State, Northwestern, Hope College)

Why Google Apps for Education?

‣ > 7Gb disk quota and growing

‣ All services: web, POP & IMAP

‣ Focus on e-mail services

‣ Google continues to improve e-mail and other apps (calendar, document sharing, chat)

‣ Currently no charge (possible advertisements in future)

‣ Extremely strong privacy policy

‣View online at: http://mail.google.com/mail/help/privacy.html

• Will my e-mail address change?No. Your address will remain [email protected]. Note that your username in OCMail is actually your ObieID (flast) + @oberlin.edu.

• Can I access this account from my personal Google account?No. You’ll need to log in at ocmail.oberlin.edu.

• Will all my existing messages still be accessible?Yes. You’ll use a desktop e-mail application to drag & drop your message into the new OCMail system.

• Can I still use a desktop client such as Thunderbird?Yes. The desktop clients CIT has supported in the past will still be supported (Thunderbird for Macintosh and Windows, Mail for Macintosh)

• Can I still use local folders and have access to that mail?Yes. If you use a desktop client, you will still have access to local folders. You can still use local folders, but we recommend that you move that mail to the server as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Making The Move

Making the transition to OCMail requires just a few steps:

1. Sign-up for transition by using this online web form: https://hera.cc.oberlin.edu/nos/ocmail/signup.html prior to 11:00a daily for afternoon access.

2. Turn on important web settings in OCMail to set up your e-mail alias and properly connect it to your desktop application of choice.

3. Find walkthrough instructions on the CITWiki for setting up your e-mail client.

4. Move all mail from existing system using a desktop e-mail application to drag and drop.

5. Export address books from ObieMail and import into OCMail.

How do I get there?

ocmail.oberlin.edu

Logging In

ObieID

Current EMail Password

• Log-in using your ObieID. Enter flastname not first.last. Enter your current e-mail password.

• Note: Please do not change your password within OCMail. This will not change your password for other ObieID services such as Blackboard and network authentication and your passwords will be out of synch.

OCMail Web Settings: Entering Your E-Mail Address

• Add your e-mail address ([email protected]) to your OCMail Account

• Settings ➠ Accounts Tab

• Click “Add another e-mail address” and enter [email protected]

• Follow the onscreen instructions when you receive your verification e-mail

• Make this address your default

OCMail Web Settings: Enabling IMAP

• Settings ➠ Forwarding and POP/IMAP

• Choose the radio button beside Enable IMAP

What is it called now?

ObieMail OCMailFolders Labels

Saved Addresses Contacts

Distribution Lists Groups

Outbox Sent Folder

Trash (only saved for 10 days) Trash (only saved for 30 days)

All Mail

Spam

Non-Threaded Messages Threaded “Conversations”

Features of the Inbox

Composing Messages

• OCMail will auto-complete addresses only with whom you have corresponded or are in your contacts list

• Currently, the web interface does not offer full Oberlin College address lookup

• If you are currently using a desktop client with address lookup, that support will continue

Organizing Mail

• All Mail

• Inbox

• Sent Mail

• Drafts

• Trash

• Spam

All Mail is unique to Google. It serves as your archive, a

storage place, for all the mail you’ve ever sent or received,

but not deleted.

Searching for Messages

Conversations

Labels

Create labels you know you’ll need ahead of time.

Spontaneously create a label for a particular message.

• To create or edit your filters, click on Settings ➠ Filters tab

• Extensive criteria by which messages can be filtered: from/to, subject, has the words, doesn’t have, has attachment

• Messages can be automatically labeled, forwarded, deleted, archived

Filters

• Currently we are filtering spam in-house so you will continue to receive quarantine reports

• After fall break, those reports will cease and OCMail will handle the spam filtering

• Check your spam folder often to make sure nothing has been mislabelled

• OCMail is a quick learner: messages mismarked can be corrected by clicking “not spam” or “report spam”

Spam

Getting Help

CITWikihttp://citwiki.oberlin.edu

Click on OCMail

GMail Help CenterClick on Help in the upper-right

of any OCMail page

Desktop E-Mail Applications

• Can use desktop e-mail applications such as Thunderbird or Apple Mail

• Detailed setup instructions for each application on the CITWiki

• Can use local folders, although we recommend keeping all mail on server

• Effective backup

• Plenty of space available

• Accessible from anywhere via web client

• Recommend use of IMAP

Thunderbird & Apple Mail

• See CIT Wiki for step-by-step instructions

• First, using the OCMail web client:

• Set up your account to use IMAP

• Add your complete e-mail address and set as “default”

• Desktop application basics:

• Create a new account for OCMail

• Where it asks,your e-mail username in this case is you ObieID plus @oberlin.edu (that’s what Google understands as your username).

• Enter imap.gmail.com and smtp.gmail.com for the Incoming and Outgoing servers, respectively.

• Change port settings (993 for IMAP and 587 for SMTP)

Thunderbird Inbox

For Your Information

• Daily message quotas to control spamming activity

• 500 messages per day (i.e., you can hit “Send” a maximum of 500 times)

• 500 unique recipients per message

• 2000 total e-mails per day (e.g., you can send one message 500 people four times daily)

Attachment restrictions to curb transmission of viruses

• Cannot send .exe or password-protected .zip files

• Attachments may be up to 20Mb

• Confirm receipt of attachments with your recipients

We will have our old system in place until fall break

• All mail left on the ObieMail server will be deleted at that time. No exceptions possible!

• Make it a priority to move your mail now

Follow-On Development

• Planned for the start of the fall semester:

• Start page

• Calendar

• Document sharing

• Chat

• Sites

Questions?

• Check CITWiki

• Send message to [email protected]

• Call the Help Desk at x58197