Module 2: Extra Email Question 2

Are there certain kinds of communication or purposes more suited to Email Lists or Discussion Boards?

I only have experience with one 'Email list' at the moment - for Adobe Photo Shop.

It struck me as very unorganised due to the random method of message posting used.
It seems that if you have a problem with how Adobe Photo Shop is running on your computer, you post a message with your problem and people message back with hints that might help you.

I'm not sure I really ike this kind of set-up.
If I personally had a particular problem with my Adobe Photo Shop, I would prefer to find messages from people who had similar problems and then read the responses they got - in case any hints were useful to me.

I guess I could also put rules onto my incoming emails to place future emails with a specific useful or related topic, to be set aside in a particular file, to save me from reading all of them.
In either case, I find these methods more time consuming (so far - with my extremely limited experience! If my view changes, I'll definitely post a follow-up).

At the moment, I am finding Discussion Boards more useful due to their more organised method of categorising messages (ie for educational courses that I have done - messages are separated by topic or into the Week of Study.

For other Discussion Boards I have viewed, there is a Topic Header, and all related messages about that particular topic are posted under it.

I find that it is much easier to search for a particular piece of information using this method.

Discussion Boards are therefore useful for categorising and instantly filing information into readily-viewable blocks.

Email Lists are useful if you want to receive information about any topic related to the Email List you have joined.

I forgot until now that I actually did join an email list yesterday, for people with my surname who are searching their family tree...as yet, no emails have hit my email box.
I may, however, post to this one in a couple of days.

Module 2: Extra Email Questions

What are the Pros and Cons of email lists versus discussion boards?

Email lists mean that you can receive all messages posted to a particular group that interests you - this is a good thing.
The bad side of receiving all messages to your email address, is that there may be more messages than you can comfortably read, entering your email box. I've heard of some people whose email boxes 'froze' due to the sheer number of emails they were receiving (mind you, this could also be due to a virus!).

Discussion Boards allow you to log on and read as many or as few emails as you want to.
The impetus is on you to log on and read - so if you are away on holidays and unable to access your emails, you won't return to find your personal email box overflowing with unread mail.
Discussion boards don't send you the messages (a good thing in regards to email message management), but it is up to the individual to log on frequently to read the message posts (or you may miss something important - a bad aspect).

Module 2: Email Question 5

Q5 How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

My personal email has 'junk' and 'spam' mail delivered to a special ' spam' box.
All I need to do is go and immediately delete these emails.
If I don't immediately delete them, my email provider does so in a months time.

Sometimes, legitimate things do get sent to my spam box in error, but if I add the sender to my address book, it gets sent to my Inbox instead.

The other ways I have sorted my email is only *after* I have read them.

I like to clear my Inbox on a daily (sometimes more than once a day) basis, so I can act on things quickly.
If I automatically sent mail to different files prior to opening it, it would take a bit longer to read my emails.

The files I have set-up usually reflect the origin of the email.

I'm a sole-trader and work at 5 different schools each week - sometimes more.
If I need to find a piece of correspondence, it is much faster to find it under the file labelled with the school name, than by any other method.

Module 2: Email Question 4

Q4 What sorts of filters or rules do you have to set-up, and for what purpose?

Filters and message rules are used to sift through incoming mail prior to opening it, to ensure several things.

Firstly, it excludes 'junk' or 'spam' email (usually generated to reach multiple users - like over 100 or more), which can contain viruses and usually don't contain anything of personal relevance to you.

Secondly, if you subscribe to a mailing list that generates many messages, you can filter through incoming mail and have it automatically filed to a folder (according to any conditions and rules you have previously set: eg alerts can be set to deliver mail with a particular word or name, to be sent to a file that matches that system or command).

Module 2: Email Question 3

Q3 In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send can be easily opened by the receiver?

In order for an attachment to be easily opened by the recipient, you need to ensure that the recipient has the same software on their computer (or a compatible program) before sending it.

If this is not possible due to not knowing the recipient or other instances where the recipient may be away from their computer and using an Internet Cafe etc, you can send it in a text only code that can be understood by all computers (ASCII).

Module 2: Email Question 2

Q2 In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'CC', 'BCC', and 'REPLY ALL' functions of email?

It would be useful to use the following functions of email:

'CC': if you wish to send a copy of your message to someone other than the message recipient.
It can also be used if you wish to send a copy to yourself, or if you have multiple recipients to send to.

'BCC': or 'blind copy' if you wish to send a copy of the message to someone but without other recipients knowing about it. Again, this can also be used to send a copy to yourself.

'REPLY ALL': sends a response message to all recipients listed on the original email.

'REPLY': sends a response message to just the message sender only. Other recipients do not receive a copy.

Module 2: Email Question 1

Q1 What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

From an user's email account you can find out their user name (the section before the @) and the domain name (listed after the @), which is the particular set of computers it uses to enable mail functions, connecting it to the Internet.

Information that can be gleaned about the paths taken, from a received email are:

where the email originated (user's name)

who the user's domain provider is (domain name); followed by

your domain provider (from your domain name); and lastly

to you (your user name)

You cannot generally ascertain any of the computer number's that were found in the Module 1 Tasks.

This information is generally hidden from view in a regular email.

Module 2: Join an Email List

I managed to join 2 groups today.

The first one, an Adobe Photoshop one, doesn't appear to be that useful to me.
Every message I read was a complaint or a help one, asking how to do something.
I couldn't respond unfortunately, as all questions were way beyond my understanding.

The second group is a Yahoo group called 'Pinoy Drummers' (for Filipino drummers - I was born in the Philippines and play drum kit, so I figure I qualify) and I had to say why I wanted to join, then submit it as the first step.
They'll get back to me in a couple of days.
We'll see if I was accepted...maybe it's an 'invitation only' group. Oh well!

I also tried to set-up my Outlook but got rejected with error messages. Not sure whether it's my computer or me that is dudding out!