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CUmail Tutorial - Best Practices

DO:

• Delete unneeded or read e-mail, from all folders, regularly.
• Delete earlier versions of the same e-mail once someone has responded. This is especially important if the e-mails contain attachments.
• Check your mailbox size regularly and review sent items for messages that may be deleted.
• Empty your Deleted Items folder. Those items still count toward your account quota until the folder is emptied.
• Place files on shared network drives and direct correspondents to the file rather than attaching it to an e-mail, when possible.

DON'T:

• Pass along chain letters.
  E-mail hoaxes can be checked at
  www.snopes.com and hoaxbusters.ciac.org

DO:

• Use a standard font such as Arial. Your recipient may not be able to read your message if s/he does not have the same font.
• Use a descriptive and specific subject line. Some filtering programs mark vague or blank subject lines as spam.
• Utilize the “Out of Office” assistant if you will be away for a period of time in which you will not have access to your e-mail. The “Out of Office” message will be sent once to anyone who sends you e-mail during your absence.

DON'T:

• Use colored text. Not all monitors display colors in the same way.
• Address e-mail messages to large numbers of recipients. If you are e-mailing a large group of people, consider using a distribution list or listing the recipients on the “bcc” line of the message to make the e-mail more readable.

DO:

• Place files on shared network drives and direct correspondents to the file rather than attaching it to an e-mail, when possible.
• Empty your Deleted Items folder. Those items still count toward your account quota until the folder is emptied.
• Place files on shared network drives and direct correspondents to the file rather than attaching it to an e-mail, when possible.

DON'T:

• Use “stationery” in e-mail messages.
• Attach files, especially .pdf or image files, unless they are necessary.
• Use large signature files.

DO:

• Add frequent correspondents to your Outlook Contacts.
• Encourage colleagues to include descriptive and specific subject lines in e-mail messages.
• Take advantage of the Junk E-mail filter. Any message that is caught by the filter is moved to a special Junk E-mail folder, where you can retrieve or review it at a later time.
• Consider making a phone call to your financial institution to verify e-mail requests for personal information.

DON'T:

• Open unsolicited e-mail attachments.
• Open messages from unknown senders or with suspicious subject lines.
• Reply to spam, not even to unsubscribe unless you trust the sender. Answering spam just confirms that your e-mail address is live.
• Provide personal information such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers or social security numbers in e-mail.
• Forward chain e-mail messages. Besides causing more traffic over the line, forwarding a chain e-mail message might be furthering a hoax, and you lose control over who sees your e-mail address.

DO:

• Choose "Yes" in response to the AutoArchive dialog box. The default aging periods for folders are as follows:
• Inbox, Calendar, Tasks, Notes, Journal, Drafts: 6 months
• Sent Items, Deleted Items: 2 months
• Outbox: 3 months
• Regularly make a backup of your archived items. By default these are stored on your workstation’s hard drive, not a network server.

DON'T:

• If you try to retrieve messages archived on your office workstation via OWA, you will not be able to get them.

DO:

• Process meeting requests and updates from the Inbox. Yes, you can accept or decline a meeting from its time slot on your calendar, but that can leave the meeting request in your Inbox, which might confuse you later.
• Make a choice. Accept, accept as tentative, or decline each meeting request that you receive, especially if it is an update to a meeting request that you previously accepted.

DON'T:

• Try to delete a meeting request outright because this is one way that meetings get "lost."

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