VUmail FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is VUmail?
- What email client programs may be used?
- How much mail storage space do I get on the VUmail system?
- How can I check whether I'm running low on storage space?
- What happens if I go over my disk space quota?
- How will I know if I have exceeded my disk space quota?
- How can I be over quota -- I only have a few messages in my mailbox?
- How do I check my email if I am away from the University, at a conference for example?
- My email disappeared! Where did it go?
- I changed my name. How do I change my account name / email address / BCA?
- What happens when I graduate / resign from Vanderbilt?
- What is the mass email policy?
- Why can't I use email over my BellSouth DSL connection?
- How do I reset my IMSP options?
- How do I stop the SPAM that I'm getting on my mailing list?
- I have the same [or similar] name as another individual at Vanderbilt. How can email senders differentiate between us?
If you have any questions, please contact your local IT support provider or the ITS Help Desk at 3-9999.
Q: What is VUmail?
VUmail is the electronic mail system designed to support the needs of the entire campus. VUmail consists of a set of network servers that
- exchange messages with client application programs
- use the network to pass messages among servers for delivery to Internet destinations
- use VUnetID, a general network user authentication service
VUmail is based entirely on "open
source" Internet standards rather than on vendor-proprietary solutions. The
emphasis on standards gives users maximum flexibility. You can use the standards-based
email client that offers you the features you prefer and with which you are
most comfortable. Use of standards-based components on the server side permits
the replacement of any component of the system with another standards-compliant
component without service disruption.
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Q: What email client programs may be used?
The e-mail servers at Vanderbilt can be used with e-mail programs that use either the "IMAP" protocol (or "Internet Message Access Protocol"), or the "POP" protocol (or "Post Office Protocol").
Mulberry is one IMAP client used at Vanderbilt. Since the server also stores your personal settings, Mulberry will look the same from any computer you use to check your VUmail. Mulberry is available as a free download.
Other mail clients need to be configured to access VUmail. Instructions for some clients are available here, but keep in mind that ITS will not troubleshoot or support these clients for you. If you are having problems, contact your IT support provider or the vendor of the email client.
VUmail can also be accessed using VUwebmail.
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Q: How much mail storage space do I get on the VUmail
system?
All users are granted a 100 megabyte
disk space quota when their account is set up. Disk space limits are reviewed
every year and have increased by a factor of 10x since the introduction of VUmail in 1996.
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Q: How can I check whether I'm
running low on storage space?
Check your VUmail disk storage usage
using the form at https://www2.vanderbilt.edu/vunet/quota.html
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Q: What happens if I go over my disk space quota?
Your mailbox is allowed to exceed your quota by exactly one message, but after that, you will no longer be able to receive email until you make space in your mailbox by deleting old messages or moving them to your computer's hard disk drive. Once your mailbox is full, all subsequent emails will bounce back to the sender with a messages stating that your mailbox was full and that the message was undeliverable. If you want to keep all mail in your mailbox, then you can purchase extra mail storage space.
A system has been put in place (see
next question) that scans the VUmail servers each night examining quota usage.
If this scanner finds that you are over quota, it will grant you a temporary
1/2 megabyte disk space extension, hopefully enough to allow you to continue
receiving email until you can get in and clean house.
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Q: How will I know if I have exceeded my disk space quota?
A warning system has been put in place that will notify you by email:
- when your mailbox is 90% full
- when your mailbox is 100% full
In addition to the notification when your mailbox is 100% full, the warning system will automatically grant you a 1/2 megabyte quota extension so that you can continue to receive email while you clear space. The 1/2 megabyte extension will automatically be revoked after 7 days.
Some suggestions for making space
in your mailbox include moving files to a local folder on your hard drive and
deleting old or unwanted emails. Be particularly diligent about removing messages
with attachments from your mailbox, because attachments use much more disk space
than plain text email.
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Q: How can I be over quota with only a few messages in
my mailbox?
Mailbox quota is based on disk space
consumption, not number of messages. In general messages with attachments will
be much larger than those without. Use your mail client to sort the messages
in your mailbox by size and delete the largest messages first.
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Q: How do I check my email if I am away from the University,
at a conference for example?
You can point your web browser to
VUwebmail
and check your mail through the web.
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Q: My email disappeared! Where did it go?
The following answers have all been valid so far:
- You accidentally deleted the messages -- with Simeon, you may have accidentally deleted the messages in a search or message group instead of the search or message group itself.
- You ran a POP email client (For example Eudora lite) from some computer. The POP client downloaded all your messages to that computer and then deleted them off the server.
- You left your email client logged in or configured it to remember your password and someone (roommate, enemy, stranger) came up to the machine after you were gone and deleted your messages.
Q: I got married and changed my name. How do I change my account / email address / BCA?
Usually this question means how do I change my email address (Business Card Address or BCA) to reflect my new name? Because it involves a change to your permanent BCA and because you will probably want to keep your old email address active at the same time, you will need assistance. To update your BCA(s) to reflect your name change, do the following:
- Update your name in the personnel records maintained by HRS.
- Allow at least a week for the update to propagate to the VUnet database.
- Contact your Local Support Provider, or come in person to 143 Hill Center, to have an administrator update your BCA(s). You can decide at this time what BCAs you will want. Typically, your permanent BCA will be updated to reflect your new name, and your old permanent BCA will be turned into an alternate. You may opt to add or drop additional alternate BCAs at this time.
Example:
Susan Smith gets married and changes her last name to Jones:
Before
Permanent BCA:
susan.a.smith
Alternate BCA:
sue.smith
After Permanent BCA:
susan.a.jones
Alternate BCA:
sue.jones
Alternate BCA:
susan.a.smith
Alternate BCA:
sue.smith
Notes:
- Read the full BCA Policy before making any changes.
- Once you've got a mixture of BCAs
reflecting different last names, you won't be able to add new BCAs until you
go in and delete the BCAs that conflict with your new last name. In the example
above, Susan Jones couldn't add s.jones as an alternate BCA until she had
removed all the BCAs with Smith.
- Changing the BCAs to reflect a name change does not change the VUnetID. In the example above, Susan's VUnetID would remain smithsa. Since the VUnetID is not generally visible to other users, this doesn't usually present a problem. If you have strong reasons to have your VUnetID changed as well, you will need to come in person to 143 Hill Center and make the request. Be advised that changing the VUnetID involves deleting your existing account and generating a new one, so you will need to take steps to save any email or address books, because these would be deleted along with the old account.
Q: What happens when
I graduate / resign from Vanderbilt?
Data records that support the VUnetID are typically provided by the University
Registrar for students and by Human Resource Services for faculty and staff.
Faculty & Students:
Soon after your information ceases to appear on those records, you will receive
notification by e-mail that your VUnetID is set to be terminated. in most cases,
there will be about four months between your notification and the termination
date. This is intended as a transition time, during which you may obtain a new
Internet service provider and forward
your e-mail to a new service. Note that you must set your forwarding before
your termination date. Messages will be forwarded for nine months after your
termination date.
Staff:
As employees (staff only) fall off of the HR data feed
they no longer receive a 4 month extension of services.
Instead, the VUnetID is immediately marked as "separated" and the separated
employee may no longer use the VUnetID or associated services.
For more information, review HR "Seperation of Employment" policy #038, which
can be found here.
Q: What is the mass email policy?
These messages must be approved by the Associate Vice Chancellor/Chief Human Resource Officer (Kevin Myatt's office). Contact is Molly Hopkins x24979.
These messages must be approved by the Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs (Mike Schoenfeld's Office). Contact is Patsy Sanders x39721.
These messages must be approved by F Clark Williams x6-3728.
These messages must be approved by Tim McNamara, Associate Provost for Faculty.
Q: Why can't I use email over my BellSouth DSL connection?
BellSouth DSL customers that have a WESTEL modem may be unable to use VUmail. This modem is also a firewall and blocks many ports and is standard issue to BellSouth DSL customers. The other standard issue modems are Alcatel speed touch USB (StingRay) and Alcatel speed touch Home Ethernet. This modems will not have the problem.
The customers that are having the email sending problems and own a WESTEL modem should call BellSouth DSL, ask for a Product Specialist to grant an IP PASS THRU. The Product Specialist will open ALL ports and basically void the firewall feature. These customers should purchase their own firewall for protection.
Q: How do I reset my IMSP options?
Sometimes a user's IMSP options file can become corrupted. To reset the IMSP options, go here.
Q: How do I stop the SPAM that I'm getting on my mailing list?
First, make sure the lists' email address is not on any website. Spammers use web-bots to spider the internet and collect addresses to send SPAM to. Secondly, you can make your list moderated for a while and hope that the bounces the spammers get will prompt them to stop spamming your list. Third, you could set up a restrict-post file with everyone you want to be able to send messages to the list where they don't have to know the list password. Lastly, ITS is looking into a majorcool replacement list-serv product and will keep this in mind as we do that.
You can help senders avoid confusion by adding the name of your department (or other identifying information) to your directory information in the Global Address Listing.
To do so, log into the Modify Your Personal Options pages. In the First Name field beneath Preferred version of your personal name published in VUdirectory: enter your first name and then, in parenthesis, your department.
Example: John (Accounting).
Be sure to add parenthesis to the identifying information.
When staff members search the Global Address List, the identifying information will help them differentiate your name from similar ones. The Global Address Listing is only accessible to Vanderbilt email users. If you get misdirected mail from an off-campus sender, inform the sender that you received the mail instead of the intended recipient and ask them to double-check the email address.
