Net11 SP2 2009

"The first email task consists of undertaking this Email Tutorial to ensure you understand (or have reviewed) all the basic email functions. Make sure to take the little 'quiz' at the end of each 'lesson', and to try out functions such as setting up folders and filters in your own email account. Then, answer the following series of 'reflective questions', and record your answers in your learning log."(Allen, M n.d)

I have been using email for atleast the past 15 years and I have to admit that I glanced at the reading and then zoomed to the task - How wrong I was. I only wish I had of read this a couple of years ago when I worked in a customer suport role for an adult personals website and dealt with 400+ emails on a daily basis. This task would have enabled me to deal with them so much better - Hind sight!

Anyway, onto the questions:

1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message? (Allen, M n.d)

• The senders eamil gives me an idea who it is from. Say for instance the email was from accounts@mytelephonecompany.com.au , I'd know that the email was from my telephone company, in Australia and from the accounts department.
• The subject line may alert me to is importance, or lack of and if it was perhaps spam (junk mail). It could also indicate if it was an on going conversation by the presense of RE: ... or if the email was forwarded onto me, indicated by FWD:
• The body of the email would give me the infomation in which to decide how I would need to respond, if at all.
• I could also see the time & date the email was sent

2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email? (Allen, M n.d)

Using my role as the newsletter editor as an example, I use the 'CC' function when dealing with a an issue that involves a few people. The 'cc' allows me to write one email and keep several people aware of what is going on. Similarly, the 'Reply all' feature allows me to write one email (with or without attatchments) and send to several people without having the individually enter email address, possibly containing typos or leaving out addresses entirely.

I use the 'BCC' feature when emailing out the newsletter, it hides the email address's and keep the email header less cluttered.

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver? (Allen, M n.d)

When sending an attatchment, I could ensure it was easily encoded, decoded & opened by all I should send it as an ASCII text or also known as plain text

4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose? (Allen, M n.d)

Currently I have very few filters set up. The few that I do have set up are usually in response to spam so that it is delivered straight to the junk mail folder on not the inbox. Having said that, I have several ideas for new filters/rules after reading module 2.

5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why? (Allen, M n.d)

My current email set up includes the folders:

• Inbox
• Deleted
• sent mail
• junk mail
• drafts
• a persoanl folder
• club newsletter folder
• club website folder

The inbox is for all mail, except those with filters/rules in place. After downloading the emails, the inbox is then sorted manually, emails that relate to club newsletter are moved to the 'Newsletter' folder, mail relating to the club website are moved to the 'Website' folder and personal mail is moved to the 'Personal' folder. This is done so that if need be I can refer to an email quickly by determaning what folder it would be in.

I really enjoyed this task, I thought I knew just about everything to do with email. I have now set up a new email account on my new laptop and intend to put into practice the things learnt in this module.

Allen, M n.d " Module two: Communicating in the infosphere" Retrieved on June 18, 2009 from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_18825_1%26url%3d