Module 2 - Tasks

Q1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

A1. At first glance of an email you can easily observe the following 'surface' metadata:

• The Sender
• Who the email is addressed to (Receiver)
• The Subject of the email
• The date and time the email was sent
• Who is copied in the email (unless they were BCC)
• The urgency in which the sender has assigned to the email
• We can determine if the sender requires an immediate response
• Some email addresses you are able to determine which country the email originated from ie .au is for Australia
• You may be able to tell which institution or company they are with (for example .gov you would know straight away that they can be associated as part of the government).

Therefore there is quite a lot of information that is available in the email message. This then makes it easier to determine whether the email is correctly sent to us or if it was in fact ment to be sent to another person. Also the email message gives us a overview of what is to come in the body of the email ('implied" metadata) before we set out to read the whole thing.

Q2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?

A2. With the email becoming one of the biggest forms of communication for both personal and business the use of 'cc', 'bcc' & 'reply all' is a very handy option.

To 'cc' (carbon copy) is to send a copy of an email to secondary recipients as well as the person it is directed to. This is a useful way of sharing important information and keeping people in the loop. I find this very handy at work when a customer emails me with a compliant, I then try to answer their email but 'cc' other people at my work so they know what has happened and what current situation is. Other times I would use it when making a compliant myself, I would 'cc' my manager so that the person who the email is directed to knows that the manager is following what is happening also.

To 'bcc' (blind carbon copy) is where you 'cc' someone however they aren't able to view the complete list of recipients. Nor can other recipients see that they received it. This would be useful as you can keep other people in the loop without the person the email is directed to knowing that person knowing other people are copied in the email. Thinking of an example for when I would use 'bcc' at work would be when I am sending the same quotation request to several different suppliers but don't want for each of the suppliers to know who else is receiving the request.

The 'reply all' function is useful when replying to an email where several other people have been copied. This allows everyone to know what my response is and each person involved to act accordingly.

Q3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

A3. The following 2 ways that can help ensure that the attachment you send can be opened by the receiver:

1. Before sending an attachment contact the desired recipient and find out what software and computer system they are using. As if you are sending a file from a PC to mac computer the software is often quite different. If you first discuss what systems you have you can format your files appropriately thus allowing the recipient to open the documents first go. If you aren't sure what software and systems the receiver is using always use file format .rtf (rich text) format or plain text (ASCII) these can be read across most of the programs and platforms. Sometimes the format may change slightly however they will atleast receive the information.
   
2. When emailing an attachment you can copy and paste the important parts of the attachment and paste it in the body of the email. This way if the attachment is not able to be opened the receiver is still able to view the important information.

Q4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

A4. At work we have a filter set up that keeps any email from an address that is not in our contact list in the online server inbox, when we connect to the online inbox we can check the surface metadata and decide if this email is spam or not. If it is not spam we then we 'receive' the email and it is then placed in our inbox. This prevents alot of viruses getting into our system.

When 'filing' the email the system is set to keep a copy in the email center which is where our inbox and outbox etc is. These are all store in date order, however we can sort each month by sender, date, subject etc. Also the email is linked to our data base if already added. This way we can see all communication with this client from anyone in our company. I find this very handy as you can quickly check what previous discussions has gone on with this customer before contacting them yourself. And you are able to review any of the emails they mention as they are all filed together in the same place in date order.

Q5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

A5. I have set up my person email account to have several folders where I file my emails. These folders having headings such as Important, Uni Related, Photos, Work Related etc, Bills etc

Alot of the emails that I receive in my person email account are mostly junk emails or emails from groups I have joined. Majority of the time I do a quick check of the surface metadata then delete the ones that I am not interested in. Then I will sort to show emails from the same sender together.

Once emails have been checked and I have decided whether I need to keep them for reference in the future I file them in the appropriate folders. This keeps my inbox virtually empty unless they are unread emails. And makes checking emails a quick and easy process.

At work we have little say in how the emails are filed and stored however I am very satisfied as to the way the system is set up and have had little trouble when needing to find an email which was sent to me or anyone else at the company months, or even years earlier.