Send new questions and suggestions to Dann Foster, dannf@oakton.edu

What is Netscape Messenger?

Netscape Messenger is part of the Netscape Communicator integrated suite of Internet/web programs. Messenger will seamlessly handle all your e-mail needs. You can use this single program to exchange messages with other Oaktonites and people all over the world.

Can I dial-in from home to read my email?

Faculty and staff can ger dialup software from the IT Help Desk for Windows and Mac. This will allow users to read their mail in the same manner as they do on campus.

How come I get a pop-up error when I try to launch Netscape Messenger or Communicator?

This usually occurs when you try to start the program twice. Often when you double click on the email icon it looks like nothing is happening-- no little hourglass appears to let you know the launch is in progress. Many people figure they clicked on it wrong and try clicking again.

What do I do to get rid of the error message?

If clicking on its "OK" button doesn't work, you'll have to go into task manager to clear it. DO NOT just turn off the computer and re-boot. Press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to start Task Manager. Click the End Task button-- that will bring up the End Task screen. There you select all the Messenger/Communicator related programs on the list and click End Task again. Your screen will refresh and the error messages should disappear.

How do I address messages to people outside of Oakton?

Use standard Internet format (like jsmith@provider.com) for non-Oakton recipients.

How do I address messages to the whole college?

You can send messages to all employees of the college by typing "everyone" (without the quote marks) in the address line. Similarly, you can send to staff, faculty, and administrators.

 Note: Students cannot send to any of the above groups as their addresses are not part of the everyone group.

Can employees send messages to all students?

There is no "student" mail group like the ones for staff, faculty, etc.

Does Messenger keep a copy of messages that I send out?

Yes. Copies are placed in the "Sent" folder. By the way, like the Trash folder, messages can build up there and take up precious space so you should go through it periodically and delete anything you don't need.

Why are there two Trash folders?

One Trash folder handles deleted messages from "mail on borg" (that's where deleted inbox messages go) while the other handles deleted messages from "local mail" (that's where deleted Sent folder messages go). You can see the division between the two areas on the folder drop list.
 

What happens if I don't delete mail (and empty the trash)?

Eventually you will go over quota and you will no longer receive new email. Once you get within 90% of your limit, a popup message will appear to warn you each time you check for new mail.

What happens if I go "over quota?"

When you go over quota, you can no longer use the delete button on the toolbar to delete messages as this function temporarily places a copy of the message in the trash folder (and you don't have space for that). To clean up your mail, select messages to be deleted then press 'shift-delete' on the keyboard.

Is it possible to create e-mail accounts for generic log in ids?

Due to the exposure that we have from our open email system (a generic email can be sent from a generic account used by anyone), we need to provide email accounts to individuals by name. In a proprietary email system that is closed to the rest of the world, we could do that but our new system is open to the entire world and we must ensure that we can accurately identify the source of all emails sent and received.

Why is the home page locked on the Netscape startup?

Standardization. We need to ensure that what comes up on each desktop is suitable for viewing. That is the argument I would use. What they launch off to after that page is up to the instructor. We can always create a menu option that launches netscape with a different page than the Oakton home page. If an instructor wants to have netscape launch with their course page by default, a new application object with that page as one of the startup parameters is certainly doable. But the default icon on everyone's desktop will be standard. You could also make the argument that as we begin to deploy more applications at Oakton, we need a launching point and it would seem that the occ home page is the likely candidate to launch from for occ educational applications.

Can I send messages with formatted text?

Yes, but when you send to people outside the college you need to think about what email program they're using. Messenger uses HTML codes (the same codes as for creating web pages) to format text. Unless your recipient is using Messenger or a similar program, all the coding that does that formatting is going to make it difficult for the recipient to read.

Why do some messages I receive seem to run off the right side of the page?

Some non-Netscape email programs generate messages that do not automatically put in carriage returns-- or they put the return in at a wider than standard point. To view such messages more easily, click on Netscape's View menu and select "Wrap Long Lines."