Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?

Subject: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it bett
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 03:38 AM

I used to be very happy with my msn email account, but lately it has been sluggish and unreliable. I also have Yahoo and Gmail accounts, and I don't like them, either.
At work, we have Comcast, and their email sucks.

So, when I set up a Website for the women's center where I work, I used Network Solutions for Web Hosting, and it works pretty well. I also started using the email service that Network Solutions provides with our domain name.

But that e-mail's lousy, too. It has a Web-based email client with a 1 GB storage limit, and employees are frequently going over the limit with stored photos and the like. And the email is very unreliable.

So, what can I do to get reliable email service? The Network Solutions email can be set to be sent to any email service, but will that end my unreliability? If I tie the network solutions email to Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird, will that give us reliable service? I already have Outlook installed on every computer, but we haven't been using it. If I use Outlook on our office computers, how can users access and manage their email on their phones or at home?If they delete or save a message at home, will it be deleted or saved on the Outlook software at the office?

So, what would be an ideal, inexpensive email setup for a nonprofit that needs maybe 20-25 mailboxes?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 04:48 AM

Is there any way you can set a per mail box limit with the network solutions one?

If the email needs to be read in various places, it's not going to work downloading it to individual computers to say outlook and deleting it from the server.

It is quite possible to set up your own IMAP server and have as much disk space as you want. I do that at home using fetchmail, postfix and cyrus on linux. All our email from our various email accounts is placed on this server. My setup is really only for convenience at home though. I can access it on my phone via VPN if I really need to from outside but the IMAP server is not accessible outside the LAN. I'm unsure as to what security steps would be needed to do this.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Newport Boy
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 08:44 AM

I have found webmail very variable and only use it when needed. I have 6 active email addresses on 3 domains, all as part of a web-hosting package with 1&1.

I use Thunderbird as my email client, using POP with settings to delete mail from the server only after 14 days or when I delete them in Thunderbird. This keeps my mail storage on the server down to less than 150MB - the saved mail on my computer is about 2 GB.

Mail is routinely dealt with in Thunderbird, only using webmail when I travel. The only thing I lose is that mail sent via webmail does not appear in Thunderbird. I get over this by using cc to myself on important mails sent using webmail.

Phil

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Greg F.
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 10:15 AM

If I tie the network solutions email to Microsoft Outlook or Thunderbird, will that give us reliable service?

I've always had great luck with Thunderbird, Joe, but the reliability factor when using it - as I know you know - is largely a function of the reliability the ISP where you set up the e-mail account.

So perhaps you're back to square one?

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 10:25 AM

What Greg said. It's your ISP or mail service provider. The best software on your computer (and Thunderbird is very good) can't fix anything beyond your computer.

For the best reliability you'll need to set up your own mail server. Just don't run for President if you do.

I'd suggest a flavor of linux -- Jon had some good ideas. You'll have to have a domain name, but you apparently already have that.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,DaveRo
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 10:37 AM

Provided you connect to your email server with IMAP then you can use any email client or webmail and you'll see the same email in the same folders - including sent mail. I use Thunderbird on several Linux and Windows PCs and Profimail on Android. If necessary I use the webmail program my provider (1&1) provides but I find it slow and inconvenient.

I used to use POP with several devices but IMAP is much easier. As for busting storage limits it's really down to discipline. In Thunderbird I often detach pictures or large files leaving the emails behind. I can also periodically archive the email onto a PC.

For sending large files I use dropbox-for-filelink* Maybe your employees could be encouraged to use something similar.

*Despite the comments on that page I find it works fine.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 01:36 PM

"As for busting storage limits it's really down to discipline."

Agreed but as far as I understood Joe's situation, it only takes one or two selfish/indisciplined employees to mess things up for everyone. That's why I was wondering whether individual limits could be set.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 04:26 PM

Just to try to explain my own components to Joe.

fetchmail: This does what it says. It (periodically) fetches mail from our external email accounts and hands it over to...

postfix: This is what is known as an MTA (mail transfer agent). This moves mail around. For my usage, it delivers the mail to...

cyrus. This is an email (IMAP/POP) server. This is where the individual mailboxes are and where the PCs, Androids, etc. see the email from.

(ours actually goes through span and virus filtering in the chain but the above gives the general idea)

There are other ways of working with these types of components.

I could set postfix up to send mail to others. But non business IP addresses tend to wind up on blocks of blacklists (I think it is assumed home users should not be sending mail and most email originating from such an IP address is the result of a hacked computer). That and I believe spammers are always on the look out for insecure SMTP servers...

It would be possible for me for example to direct incoming mail straight to my folkinfo domain address rather than have it go to my ISP and have fetchmail, hmm fetch it from there. On the plus side, that would cut out the few minutes lags between fetchmail checking for mail.

One could make a full blown email system or (as I do) just make use of some bits.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 04:40 PM

The employees at our nonprofit are wonderful about everything, including deleting email. It took me a long while to figure out that deleting wasn't enough to keep them under the 1 GB limit - they also had to empty their "trash bins."
Can't say that made me very happy with Network solutions.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Newport Boy
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 04:54 PM

Another advantage of Thunderbird, Joe. I have it set to empty Trash when it closes.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 06:30 PM

Thunderbird is the email client in use on the PCs and laptop here but I use K9 on the androids and wouldn't be fussed if my parents say preferred kmail or evolution for their own email one their PC and the shared laptop.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Rapparee
Date: 23 Dec 15 - 10:10 PM

Joe, if they're not deleting the trash either the sysad or the ISP can. Or you can insure that they have a program (like Thunderbird) that will download EVERYTHING to their PC and they can sort it out. Then, if the trash gets extravagant it will slow down their PC and not the whole system.

That allows the sysad to yell at them and stuff, but it clears the mail off the servers.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 24 Dec 15 - 12:49 AM

Oh, I don't yell at them, Rap. When they ask what's wrong with their computers, I just smile knowingly and say, "Operator Error."

It's my mantra...

So far, they haven't caught on that I'm pulling their legs.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Mr Red
Date: 24 Dec 15 - 01:56 PM

It is getting worse. IMAP leaves it all on the server so people can look at it on phone/tab/PC. Some services are virtually impossible to set up with POP3 now.

Progress?

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,DaveRo
Date: 24 Dec 15 - 03:03 PM

Deleting messages in IMAP accounts

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 25 Dec 15 - 05:37 AM

One problem with Gmail is that it doesn't appear to be possible to download all your email as a text file, as used to be possible when using Eudora long ago.

Having once lost all my mail when the merry pranksters at Eircom deleted my account and all the mail on it after I didn't use it for some time, I'd be eager to do this and then clear my mail from Gmail, in case of horrid accidents. Years and years of research there, and I'm not always that efficient about saving essential mails and addresses.

Subject: RE: Tech: How Does Email Work? How to make it better?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 25 Dec 15 - 06:00 PM

I use my personal address & 2 gmail accounts for a committee, & always bcc my personal address when replying, & also forward emails that don't need answering to my personal address so it is all in one place.

When I retired I sent committee stuff home in long forwarded emails.

sandra


How to forward multiple emails in Gmail
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How to forward multiple emails in Gmail

Currently in Gmail, there is no button or function to forward multiple emails at once unless these messages are part of a conversation thread. Although we do not endorse one in particular, you can also look for third party applications or CRM tools that may work with Gmail.
If you want to forward a group of messages to an existing address that you own then one thing you can do is set up a filter. (READ ON)


further eplies to search on 'forums on forwarding gmail emails' I do lots of searches for 'forums on ...'