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Subject : Re: LUG: Student Email

From : "Alexander Ray" <alexjray.ncsu@gmail.[redacted]>

Date : Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:16:55 -0500

Parent

I think some of the advantages  (and things wrong with the current system) are the things we don't see.  E.g. how many man-hours it takes to keep SquirrelMail up-to-date and running.  Maybe advantage of these alternative solutions are less of a hassle.

Other advantages include more space, as well as more support from a greater user base.

Personally I would not mind the university dropping mail hosting (as long as it kept forwarding).  College students and faculty (in general) are mature, responsible people, and can be expected to find an appropriate mail service to use.  That way someone could even set up their own mail server in their dorm and use that.  It is the ultimate flexibility in choice.
That being said the safer route would probably be to have university mail, because of privacy concerns and the like.

I also would like the collaborative environment these services provide with their web-based applications.

I would love to see an Open Source solution to this, but I'll concede that the closed-source solution is probably the most feasible in this case.

Either way, I'm looking forward to a greater functionality; from mere email (SquirrelMail) to online applications with integrated chat that host communication as well as collaboration.  I believe these will greatly improve students' experiences here, especially if the teaching faculty participate as well.

On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 11:45 AM, Andrew Austin < adausti2@ncsu.[redacted] > wrote:
Has somebody outlined what's wrong with the current system?  I like
SquirrelMail, more space would be nice, but that's that. As long as we
don't go the route of Boston College:
http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3473/boston-college-to-stop-offering-student-e-mail-accounts-to-freshmen-starting-next-year

Andrew
> Folks,
>
> I'm pestering you guys to participate in the Student Email initiative
> stuff again.  Some of our most basic services are being redesigned and
> its important to have feedback from our customers (you).  From technical
> folks as well as those not as familar with how the existing systems
> work.  Please consider sharing your thoughts on the forum:
>
> http://oit.ncsu.edu/forum/student-email-task-force
>
> Why am I thinking about this?  Well, there was an interesting article in
> the Technician....
>
> http://technicianonline.com/viewpoint/google_provides_best_upgrade_for_e-mail_system
>
> Of course, if you have questions I may also be able to answer some of
> them.
>
> Jack Neely
> --
> Jack Neely < jjneely@ncsu.[redacted] >
> Linux Czar, OIT Campus Linux Services
> Office of Information Technology, NC State University
> GPG Fingerprint: 1917 5AC1 E828 9337 7AA4  EA6B 213B 765F 3B6A 5B89
>


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