New Western Email Accounts

I did my migration several this morning, and I'm already regretting it.

I use firefox and it just doesn't work. I'veonly been able to use my folders and contact WELL using IE. I'm very disappointed with this. It might seem like a small thing, but I believe that if we're paying technology fees, ATUS should be providing services with options, not restrictions.

Combine this SNAFU with the incompatibility of the network with Vista.... very bad service right now.

Dave Brannon
 

I was wondering about that too, because most of the people I know primarily use Mozilla. I think the new setup is a lot less user-friendly no matter what server you're on, though. I've used Outlook quite a bit before, and I always found it more annoying than myWestern's old setup. Plus it's really obnoxious to have all the mail that was moved over from my cc.wwu.edu account in its own little folders. I have stuff that's not in my inbox even though it was just sent to me a couple days ago.

The main thing that bothers me is how it's so much more awkward to use, and I've used this type of system before, so it's not just that I haven't got the hang of it yet.

this may be dumb; but do we have a choice in the long run whether we want to change it or not?  i use mozilla too.

I also regret the switch, first of all because I use Firefox and I dislike having to switch over to Internet Explorer. In addition, it messes with my existing hotmail account, because it will automatically log me out of that one and swithc it to the WWU one. Finally it is awkward to use and I don't want to inform those that have the old email to the new one.

 it would be nice to have the option to choose as I think the old gui is easier to understand but the new one is pretty good too, just hope it works in mozilla thanks!

i use firefox and it worked just fine for me. i really don't think it's that big of a deal.

the only thing is that my old emails didn't migrate, like the folder is there but it's empty. but that's not a big deal since they're old and i don't really need the information in them anymore.

I haven't noticed anything that is to say the migration is bad. I always use Firefox 99% of the time and everything works just fine for me. The emails I had beforehand didn't switch over but that didn't really matter as they were all old. Overall I like the migration to the new emails.

I have had problems since migrating too. One, the new service clearly doesn't work that well in Firefox, something that suprises me given that most Western seems to use it, and that it is installed on most school computers. Two, I can't even access my email now:

The SSO service is currently experiencing problems.
Click here to log in using your username and password.

Clicking "here" brings me to the same page.

I have the same problem. I can't even access my email now because it says the SSO service is currently experiencing problems. It won't even let me use the old email.

I had some troubles, but over all its not too bad.  I'd rather not have had to switch just because I like habbit and I was comfortable with the old set-up.  I thought my old emails didn't migrate, but if you open the inbox in internet explorer (I know it sucks, I use Firefox too)  you can then click on the migrated mail folder, the the inbox sub-folder and the old emails will be in there. 

As with any new system there is bound to be bugs, so let's all just be patient and wait for it to work out, I know this is frustrating because you think you might me missing important emails from professors.  I just went and talked to my professors and they all offered to send me emails to see if it was working.  It probably would have been better to migrate over summer or something, but we can't change that now.

I'm rather terrified to make the migration, because I have some important stuff in my emails, not just old stuff, and I would be very, very irate if any of it was lost.

I'm dissapointed with the migration. The biggest thing is that there doesn't appear to be a "forward email" function. Not to mention that I can't even log in because of the error poping up.

There is a forward email function, I just spent the last twenty minutes figuring it out. Only works in Internet Explorer though, under "Inbox Rules."

That's a joke, right? I can only access some functions when using IE?!
This is 2009, people! haha!

Unfortunately, it's true, yeah...you only have to use IE once though, to set a new rule to redirect your mail to a different address (if that's what you want to do) then you'll never have to touch that program again.

So I have been using the new e-mail system for about a week now and I just realized that with each e-mail I send, it sends 2 copies. This is annoying because I don't want to flood my professors' inbox with e-mails that have just a simple question. It also makes me look like I'm not paying attention to the e-mails I'm sending. Is there a way to fix this or has anyone else noticed it doing the same thing to you? I use firefox and haven't had any issues thus far, I don't think it would be because I'm using firefox, but maybe? Help??

That's funny, coming from here.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/173/harhar.png

You, along with a couple other individuals on this forum, are the only individuals I have even heard of who think SquirrelMail (cc.wwu.edu) is better, in some way, shape, or form.  SquirrelMail has horrific spam filtering, an unintuitive UI, and numerous other nuances that cause grief for everyone (with exceptions, apparently).  Even in Firefox, OWA is better than SquirrelMail.  If you use IE, it's Christmas.  Western migrated to SquirrelMail about five years ago, and this migration project started about three years ago; that should tell you something.

Nope.  The server our current email runs on will no longer exist.

Using a mail client deals with all of these issues.  But that's just a suggestion.  Ok, not the last one.  But you're not going to be able to use your student email after you graduate anyway, so you should have the realistic foresight to not be dependent on it (not to mention smithj45@students.wwu.edu isn't the most professional sounding email anyway).

The SSO (single sign on) issue from last night has been fixed (the "Click here" link wasn't an actual link).

The ATUS Help Desk (360.650.3333) exists for these kinds of things.  Forums tend to be places of discussion.

The New Student Email System FAQ actually directly addresses many things covered in this thread.  Additionally, why were two threads about this topic even allowed, especially when one was official?

Edit: This is a test edit 04/13/09 14:37

"You, along with a couple other individuals on this forum, are the only individuals I have even heard of who think SquirrelMail (cc.wwu.edu) is better, in some way, shape, or form."

Probably because your horrendous attitude drives them away BEFORE they have a chance to tell you what they think.  I'm a new student this year, but probably because I'm an older student, I've already heard a handful of faculty gripe about THEIR experiences with Western's computer systems, and using more Microsoft products sure is NOT at the top of most of their lists.

"Additionally, why were two threads about this topic even allowed, especially when one was official?"
Why would anyone think bureaucratic trivialities ought to be used, in any way, to cut off discussion on an issue that affects a so far unknown, unaddressed number of students, and some fair sized university policy decisions? "Why were two threads allowed" is getting perilously close to miles-away, caged, "free expression zones".

"The New Student Email System FAQ actually directly addresses many things covered in this thread".
Actually, no it doesn't.  It doesn't address reasons at all, nor does it address when its suggested procedures fail.

Reason for selecting proprietary Microsoft-based system (outlook.com) - not covered
Reason for browser brand to affect POP/IMAP/SMTP email performance at all - not covered
Reason for not presenting rationale for change early and public in process - not covered
Vista incompatibility - not covered
Perception of new system as less friendly independent of browser - not covered
Failures of migration process - not covered
Conflicting with existing hotmail account - not covered
Reason for not offering old and new in parallel - not covered
"Here" link to fix SSO not working - not covered
Sending two copies of email - not covered

What it does cover:

What will the new address be? - yourname,sortof@students.wwu.edu
When are we moving to the new email system? - it depends on how many people complain
What’s going to happen to my current email address (@cc.wwu.edu)? - it will disappear
Will it forward? - for a little while
What’s going to happen to all of my email? - it's supposed to transfer (but it doesn't always)
...will I still be able to forward to another email account? - we hope so.  Hotmail currently has problems
Can I opt out of this change? - No
How much space do I get? - More than you can use.
What email address should I use to email my friends at Western? - Theirs.
How does SPAM filtering work?  - Mediocre to piss-poor.
What about my address book? - It's supposed to migrate, in a manner of speaking
Can I use other email programs - yes, but they won't work right
  or web browsers other than Internet Explorer? - yes, but they won't work right
Is my data private? No - http://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/fullnotice.mspx
I am using Internet Explorer 7, but see the "basic" layout!  - You have it set that way
Help! I am getting an error about SSO when I go to my student email! - *%$# happens.  Try again.

"But you're not going to be able to use your student email after you graduate anyway, so you should have the realistic foresight to not be dependent on it (not to mention smithj45@students.wwu.edu isn't the most professional sounding email anyway)"

Well, Microsoft says the accounts are available for free to students, alumni, faculty, and staff.  If they had any sense, they'd change .students.wwu to .alumni.wwu.  And then, like faculty, they would add the full name - AsmodeusCadwallader@alumni.wwu.edu.  It could even be automatic, but given Microsoft, it would more likely be a paid service.

My own experience is that Squirrel Mail works great.  Could it work better?  Sure, but I don't give a flying gene-swap - I have more important concerns. It's fast, it's not buggy, it meets my needs.  AND, Western currently supports standard email protocols, which means that if you want fancier mail programs, you can use them.  Put TheBat! on a thumb drive, and it works anywhere on campus. 

My own experience is also that Outlook has never once, in any experience I've had with it, or helped others with it, worked right.  Whatever it does well, I don't much value, nor have I seen anyone use.  I've read that it works well inside large corporations, behind corporate firewalls where nothing bad gets in and no one inside communicates with the outside much, but that's just rumor.  And I've already seen it cause problems for students and faculty on campus.  As I don't give my email to spammers, I generally don't get much, don't feel much need for a filter, and don't worry about it much.

But the last thing I need to do in a busy quarter is tear apart the security on all four of my home computers, AND my hardware firewall, and tear a hole in it all big enough to allow Idiot Exploiter to "work", in order to route my mail, already in a functional system, through the festering pit of Microsoft information mismanagement.

And BTW, that website, as well as Microsoft's own blog on the service, claim that when properly set up it DOES work with firefox.  Of course, their own blog also shows that they "missed" testing for POP/IMAP clients other than Outlook.  And a browse through the blog indicates that it IS a transitional product, and as buggy as that implies.  Personally I think WWU ought to keep the old mail system at least until the end of the school year, while running the new one in parallel, but not making (or letting) anyone be dependent on it.

I couldn't find this one in the legalese, but admittedly only spent a couple hours: Does Microsoft have any right to access the CONTENT of our email?  Will they be searching for keywords or phrases in my emails?  What if I'm involved in a lawsuit or other activity against Microsoft?  The list of what they can do with the data they extract is long and extensive, but I can't afford a lawyer good enough to tell me what that contract FORBIDS.

Mine takes FOREVER to upload! I use firefox too... it only works well on internet explorer

I haven't noticed any complaints from mac users yet- I'll be the first.

First off, i was using mac mail because the squirrel UI sucked. 

I switched to the Outlook thing.  Now it won't direct to mac mail anymore.  Thanks.  I actually checked my student email after I set it up to go to mac mail (before it was too much of a hassle and I didn't care enough).  

Mac users don't have Internet Explorer anymore.  (It used to be included but not advertised because two browsers had to be available)  Starting with Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5, and later, IE isn't included.  And Microsoft is no longer updating IE for mac.   So what features am I missing?  I haven't noticed any issues using Safari and Firefox, but I've spent as little time as possible looking around and what time I did was mostly trying to find some sort of help to get it to go to my mac mail. 

oh and chalk that up to something the faq doesn't address.  That was the first place I looked, figuring that since this has been so long in the works and a decent number of people use macs now (partiuclarly in the art program), it would at least be addressed. 

I'm a transfer student.  I've had at least 3 .edu addresses.  My favorite client (by far) has been FirstClass.  It was amazing.  It had the features of this forum and e-mail combined. 

If you're a firefox user, try this add-on: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419

It allows you to open internet explorer in a tab within firefox.  I haven't tried it yet but maybe this will help for those who are having trouble with the email?

The aura my horrendous attitude emanates drives away everyone who disagrees with me.  Of course that's the answer.  Also, faculty and staff have been using Exchange/Outlook for years.  The change is just for students.

Yes, when I asked that question, my intention was to curb the entire thread, not to ask a separate, sidenote question.  If only I'd set it aside with some sort of line break and placed it at the end of my post.

Nobody has mentioned anything about caring why Microsoft was chosen.  Only features have been mentioned.  In fact, the word "Microsoft" was only mentioned by the OP.

Are you talking about why only full performance is in IE?  Are you serious? Because it's Microsoft and it's specifically coded for IE.  Does the average user know what that means?  Do they care about the why?  They just want it to work with all browsers, and it doesn't.

I don't understand this one.  We are months late though, not early, if that's relevant.

I'm curious about this one.  I'm pretty confident it's user error when a web based email client designed by Microsoft doesn't work due to OS constraints, also which was designed by Microsoft.

How's it less friendly independent of the browser?  It's email.  It supports IMAP.  It supports POP.  It supports forwarding if you want to not use the service entirely.  How is this not friendly?  How is this less friendly than SquirrelMail?

To my knowledge (I've talked to Tech Services), that has been only one legitimate failed migration.  ONE.  People seem to have trouble using dropdown lists.  Wait my folders are where?

Ok this I'll agree with you on (hence me saying "most of these issues").  Before the system was implemented I didn't know if we would be able to sign in from hotmail.com and we obviously can.  It's annoying but hardly earth-shattering.  And besides, mail clients exist.

You tell people why, they try to act like they know how things work and start suggesting alternatives.  The old email isn't just going away, the server is going away.  That's the why.  I hardly find anything wrong with telling people "it's going away" but not telling them why.

At the time, the link was actually not a link.  It works now.  This is kind of more of the same "this is how it is, don't ask why" idea.

Only heard of one instance of this, but I don't work at ATUS, so maybe there are more.

This is a complaint for upper management.  When you outsource, you lose a degree of control when things go wrong.  They knew this and made their decision knowing this.  The world goes on.

I'll admit, this one made me laugh.  But seriously, there's an address book that lists everyone at Western, with few exceptions.

Now this is just unfair.  SquirrelMail had horrific spam filtering.  Here's an example.  I live on campus and work for the university.  Whenever I start an esign form or when one I've started is completed, I get an email.  I didn't even notice I wasn't getting these emails; when I migrated, I went through all my folders and realized my junk folder had: every esign email I've ever gotten, every email Western has ever sent me (safety alerts, etc), and every email ResTek has ever sent me.  To top it all off, I actually had one piece of junk in there, and it was literally the only one without [SPAM?] in front of it, not to mention, I don't even know how it got turned on because I've always left it off to prevent such.  You may consider Exchange spam filtering to be "mediocre to piss-poor," but you clearly haven't used SquirrelMail as this is a step up.

Actually, they will.  Outlook and Exchange are not new programs right out of beta.  Mail clients work.  User error if they don't.

I didn't know Microsoft is claiming that.  Our current system doesn't give students access to their email after they graduate.  I'll look into this and make another post.

I don't understand why you think your mail would destroy your security and punch a hole through your firewall.  Open IE up once, go to OWA, and forward your email.  Wowzers, that was dangerous stuff.  And again, all of the faculty and staff have been using Exchange/Outlook for years.

Edit:

I hear IE tab doesn't work.  I haven't tried it either though.

As the system stands (the new Exchange/Outlook one), you will not be able to use your accounts after you graduate.  I'd be interested in seeing where Microsoft claims otherwise.

It think there was consideration for students to have the first.last@students.wwu.edu format, but don't hold me to that.  If somehow Western made a deal with Microsoft so students got to keep their accounts after they graduated (might cost extra money, which directly trickles down to you), having @alumni.wwu.edu addresses would probably be part of that.  But really, how long do you really want an @alumni.wwu.edu address?  Most jobs these days give you an email, which makes a little more sense (ie: Joe.Smith@boeing.com vs Joe.Smith@alumni.wwu.edu) to me.

Ah, interesting thread...

My mitgration was simple & painless considering I had everything forwarded to my personal e-mail. But now I have a bit of an issue with the current forwarder in OWA.

In the past when I had my e-mail forwarded through squrrielmail, the subject line / From fields remained intact which is what I like.

But now with the new system, when an e-mail hits my Western inbox, it's automatically forwarded but it replaces the From field with my name and amends the subject line to include "FW:" at the beginning. I did not see an option that would allow me to have OWA function like how it was in SqurrielMail. I find it a bit weird to receive email from myself which means I have to open the inbox to look inside at WHO actually sent the message. I configured it to do this via Inbox Rules, since I didn't see the option like I mentioned.

Am I making sense? Or did I overlook this option?

Okay, so I'm just going to throw this out there... I migrated to the new system, and it seems to have worked perfectly fine. I actually kind of like how the new layout looks. I think I'm going to start using Thunderbird anyways, though.

[EDIT:] BLASPHEMY!! You can't change the color scheme in the new layout! >: [

wow it was unecessarily hard to set up forwarding

once and done though, whatever

gmail>all

I had this problem too. There is a fix, though.

Change the "rule" that you set up so that it "redirects" the mail instead of "forwards" it. Let me know if that works for you.

Hrm... that seems to work for what I want...

guess I can use it like this for now...

It turns out IE tab does work.  This is a good workaround for a number of issues.

Hmm, should I spend 30 min trying to figure out how to forward my new western email to my actual email or should I just say sayonara to email alerts from western.

Lucky for me this is my last quarter so the second option is valid (and the one I'm taking.) I do feel sorry though for anyone who is going to have to waste that time. After all 30 min can be a long time. (Econ 206 anyone?)

Other thoughts:
The new system is awkward, clunky, poor at filtering spam (it's microsoft), and will probably make you scream in the library at least once. Kind of like the old system.

How about a better solution. Students get the option of being provided an email address or supplying western with their own. WWU keeps a database of the email addresses people actually check and everyones all the merrier. Plus wouldn't it be great to see a greater variety in email addresses when you work in groups (Garrylove@hotmail, steviewonders@gmail & sk8erchx22@yahoo). Could be good for a laugh.

From the department of redundancy... I also hate how it interferes with my current hotmail account.  I'm having to switch in and out everytime I log into Live Search or Live Cashback or Hotmail or Xbox Live, etc, etc. 

Some people may want to separate their business and personal e-mails.

ATUS has an FAQ about this newfangled mail migration system.  And in said FAQ is documentation showing how to forward our email.  If someone rolls out a new system which directly affects you, it's usually a good idea to look at the documentation they provide you.

Edit:

Realistically, you should already have an email for that and it shouldn't be your school email.  The more relevant point I was trying to cover was that access to these email accounts aren't going to last forever.

Yeah, it's annoying.  ATUS's solution is to use IE and multiple windows (found in the FAQ).  Don't get me started.

1. the email is now microsoft-ran. WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! They just want to take over the world. They lock you into IE7 so you could forward your mail elsewhere. Have IE, don't use it.
2. I've complained in another post that they just had to do this in April/May...RIGHT BEFORE THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.  A better time would be in the fall when new students are coming in so they dont have to deal with the old system and spring and summer graduates are gone. This is especially ridiculous for spring graduates-we switch emails to use until graduation. Really dumb.

3. I've always forwarded my email and I just read you have to use IE7 to enable the forward option....that's because Microsoft, like many companies, suck you in and only let you use their stuff.   *edit: I know you can forward email but it's only on IE7 which is just dumb*

One thumb down right now for this email thing. Not very happy.

I haven't seen anyone else mention this but when I followed the directions about how to forward my email to another email address it gave me a huge list of every @students.wwu.edu email address in the system. This seems ridiculus to me that everyone can have access to everyone's email addresses since they have never done this before. Even when using Blackboard you can't view the email addresses of people that you are actually in a class with, but you can view everyone's email now on the new email server? That seems ridiculus to me! I don't want everyone to have my email address.

This was a conscious decision.  IIRC you can harass ATUS and demand that your email not be available to everyone, but you probably shouldn't quote me on that.  Note that it is called "address book," which is exactly what it is and it serves the exact purpose it's supposed to serve.  Personally, I think it's a good decision, but I could see why some people would dislike it.

Why do I need to tell ATUS to undo what they did by providing everyone's email to everyone? Maybe they should have the option for us to do on the computer ourselves. It just seems like it's being made our fault, our problem because they chose to just do something like that.

I agree.

It's the same reason you have to tell the phone company to be unlisted in the phone book (well you actually have to pay but you get the point).  The purpose of an address book is to be able to find anyone you want and have one piece of contact information for them.

I'm also only half sure you can be unlisted.  I'd say give them a call at (x3333) or stop by their office in Haggard and see what they can do for you.

Thanks for the link Jasper, looks simple enough.

Please dont be snide.  

I wish you would just take care of your self. I am busy studying and I don't need my one and only official communication with the university to be disrupted.

BTW only my grandparents use IE.