February 2000
Volume 3, Issue 2

Inside this Issue...

Social Science Computing Laboratory
Faculty of Social Science
Room 1228, Social Science Centre
The University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2

E-mail: ssts@uwo.ca
Web: www.ssc.uwo.ca
Phone: 519 661-2152
Managing Editor: Ramona Fudge

SSC Network Update

E-mail

Les Flodrowski

The migration to Julian E-mail is now complete and Netscape has taken over from Pine as the preferred messaging client of choice by most users. For the most part, the migration was a smooth one but there are some common problems that people routinely encounter when using Netscape. Understanding a few facts about how E-mail works may help you avoid these common pitfalls.

Did you know…

Every message sent by Netscape is kept on your H: drive.
Netscape is configured on the SSC Network to support roaming users. This means you can log in anywhere on the Network and access all your E-mail folders. Although the INBOX folder resides on Julian, SENT MAIL, a local folder, resides on your H: drive. Many users are unaware of the fact that Netscape saves a copy of every outgoing message, including attachments in the SENT MAIL folder. Over time the folder can grow in size until the capacity of the H: drive quota is exceeded. For this reason, you should periodically empty or cleanup your SENT MAIL folder.

Once you exceed your H: drive quota, Netscape will stop working properly. If your E-mail stops working, the first thing to check is your H: drive quota (see below).

Your Julian E-mail space is limited too.
Since the INBOX folder is stored on Julian and not the H: drive, you can always access incoming messages from either work or home. By default, ITS assigns a quota of 5 megabytes to Julian users but this capacity can be easily exceeded causing new incoming mail to be refused. Therefore, it is important to keep your INBOX relatively empty so that new mail can be received.

You should occasionally check both your H: drive and Julian quotas.
It's a good idea to check your H: drive and Julian usage to prevent quota problems before they occur. Simply click on Start Þ SSC Network Þ Accessories Þ Check Disk Quotas, and select "SSC Network Quotas" or "Julian E-mail Quota".

You must get a temporary quota increase if Netscape stops working.
If you exceed your H: drive quota, and Netscape stops working, call SSCL at extension 82152 and request a temporary increase. It only takes a minute and is a must before you can even begin to cleanup your SENT MAIL folder to free up excess storage.

You can also obtain a larger Julian account quota by calling the ITS Accounting Office. ITS will charge a nominal fee for additional storage that is actually used.