Email Policy
Issued
Revised
Policy:
This
policy establishes the applicability of law and other
The
University encourages the use of electronic mail and respects the privacy of
users. It does not routinely inspect,
monitor, or disclose electronic mail without the holder’s consent. Nonetheless, subject to the requirements for
authorization, notification, and other conditions specified in this policy, the
University may deny access to its electronic mail services and may inspect,
monitor, or disclose electronic mail when required by and consistent with the
law. The University will not attempt to
regulate the content of your electronic mail and accepts no responsibility for
the content of electronic mail.
Although
it is impossible to ensure the confidentiality of any electronic message stored
or communicated through the computing facilities, this policy articulates the
procedures adopted to provide users with a secure mail environment. Electronic mail is a privileged communication
between the parties involved and will be subjected to the same protection
afforded traditional paper mail.
Purpose:
The
purpose of this policy is to describe (1) Qualifications for Email, (2)
Postmaster Responsibilities, (3) Undelivered Email, (4) Email Violations, (5)
Discovery of Illegal Activity, (6) File Backup, (7) Email Maintenance, (8)
Email Violations Procedure, and (9) General Information and Definitions.
(1) Qualification for Email:
All
(2) Postmaster Responsibilities:
The
postmaster is the person assigned responsibility for dealing with email related
issues at
The
postmaster is a staff member of Concord University Computer Services
department. The postmaster will read the mail only to the extent necessary to
assist in proper mail delivery. Copies
of the messages will not be retained after successful redirection, nor will the
postmaster discuss the contents of the messages with others.
(3) Undeliverable Mail:
The
computer system automatically forwards all undeliverable mail to the designated
postmaster and/or returns it to the sender. This is a standard feature of many
mail systems. Typically, the postmaster checks the address and, where
appropriate, re-sends the message to the correct address. In general, incorrectly addressed outgoing
mail is ignored, while incoming email is redirected to its intended recipient.
(4) Email Violations:
In
general, policies and restrictions outlined in state (Electronic Mail
Protection Act, West
Virginia Statute, House Bill 2627) and federal
laws and the Faculty, Classified Staff or Student Handbooks are applicable when
using electronic mail. Specific examples include, but are not limited to the
following:
·
Forged Mail - It is a violation of this policy to
forge an electronic mail signature or to make it appear as though it originated
from a different person.
·
Intimidation - It is a violation of this policy to send
electronic mail that is abusive or threatens an individual's safety. The use of electronic mail for sexual,
ethnic, religious, or other minority harassment is also prohibited. Known threats to personal safety will be
reported to Public Safety.
·
Harassment - It is a violation of this policy to use
electronic mail to harass an individual.
This includes sending or forwarding chain letters, deliberately flooding
a user's mailbox with automatically generated mail, inappropriate e-mail
messages, and sending mail that is deliberately designed to interfere with
proper mail delivery or access.
·
Unauthorized Access - It is a violation of this policy
to attempt to gain access to another person's mail files regardless of whether
the access was successful or whether or not the messages accessed involved
personal information.
·
Illegal Use of Mail Services - It is not only a
violation of this policy to send copyrighted materials electronically - it is a
federal offense. All violations will be
dealt with severely. Any other illegal
use of electronic mail will also be dealt with severely and/or reported to the
proper authorities.
·
Chain Letters/Junk Email – It is a
violation of University policy to send chain letters and junk email. A chain letter is a letter sent originally
through national and international mail services and now through networks such
as the Internet. The original intent was for young people, mostly students, to
meet peers of the world. Writers shared
such things as their community environment, their schools, their friends, and
many times about their family life. Junk
email is email sent as commercial transactions, personal business, and other
non-university activities. The negative
side to chain letters and junk email on the Internet, or any other network, is
that it fills the net and the mail servers with useless junk at the expense of
the subscribers that use the Internet mail legitimately.
·
Spam – It is a violation of University policy
for anyone to “Spam” from University mail servers. Spam is exploiting servers or similar
broadcast systems for
purposes beyond their intended scope.
·
Hoaxes – It is a violation of University policy
to distribute an email hoax with the intention to mislead or trick other into
believing or accepting or doing something, so as to bring about the belief in
or acceptance of what is actually false.
·
Attachments – Attachments are any items added in
addition to the original email being created.
Attachments must adhere to the section on illegal use of the mail
services above. Attachments have a
direct affect on all mail servers and recipients, so an attachment should not
exceed 10 MB. Large attachments should
never be sent in mass mailing.
(5) Discovery of Illegal Activity:
Any
messages whose content is clearly illegal should be reported to the “University
Computing Services Help Desk”, appropriate campus official(s) or to the Public
Safety Office. Such items might be
discovered as part of normal Postmaster activity, dead letter processing,
contact from local/state/government agencies or other tasks. Examples might include messages containing
illegally obtained credit card numbers, telephone authorization codes, grade
reports, criminal conspiracy, illegal transmission of copyrighted materials, or
similar items.
(6) File Backup:
Mail
files are copied as a routine aspect of system backups. This is an automatic process that does not
involve any human reading of the files copied.
Such practices are not considered a violation of privacy.
(7) Email Maintenance:
Accumulating
old email is similar to saving your old letters in order to re-read them in the
future. Storage of electronic email
requires disk storage on a server or the user’s computer. The user controls storing email on their
computer, but email stored on the University server is subject to the Email
Postmaster, and the Postmaster retains the right to delete items from any
mailbox and/or the trash folder that are older than 6 months. This does not affect Microsoft Outlook,
Eudora, or other POP3 users.
(8) Email Violations Procedure:
Guidelines
for handling violations to this policy are the same as those outlined in the
“Acceptable Use” policy.
The
University reserves the right to authorize disconnecting a user's account if
the user represents a threat to system or mail integrity. As part of an investigation, the University
may examine mail files, logs, and any other appropriate documents or testimony. The appropriate Faculty, Staff or Student Handbook,
local, state or federal law, shall determine any necessary disciplinary action.
If any provision of
this policy is ruled invalid under law, it shall be deemed modified or omitted
to the extent necessary, and the remainder of the policy shall continue in full
force and effect.
(9) General Information and Definitions:
What Is Electronic Mail?
Electronic
mail (email) is a computer-based system for exchange of messages and other information,
which may include textual and numeric data, computer programs, and
graphics. Email is one of the most
common applications of time-shared computers, mainframe computer networks, and
local area networks of microcomputers.
Email also fulfills a widespread need for rapid, easy, inexpensive
communication with individuals and groups.
How Does Electronic Mail Work?
Electronic
mail applications vary across many software and hardware environments, but in
essence, is a computer-enhanced memorandum that usually includes the following:
·
To
– The “To” is the email address of the person or person(s) receiving the
email. This is normally in the form of a
user account, the “@” sign, and the machine name of the email server (e.g.
username@Concord.edu). The email address
is similar to a number and street address used for sending a letter via the U.
S. Post Office.
·
From
– The “From” is the email address of the sending the email. Similar to the “To” address above.
·
Date
- The “Date” is automatically included by the system.
·
Subject
- The “Subject” line is usually a few key words typed by the sender.
·
Body
– The “Body” is the content of the memorandum is entered either from the
keyboard or by including a previously composed file (such as from a word
processor). The completed memorandum is sent to the recipient(s), who at some
later time can issue a command to read, reply, delete, print, forward, or file.
Email Uses:
·
Day-to-day
communication traditionally accomplished by phone, postal service, and
overnight courier is probably the most common use of email. Electronic mail is
timely and convenient, and provides inexpensive access to colleagues.
·
List
serves - subscribing to interest-group lists is yet another email application.
Email
Access:
To
use electronic mail at
Administrators,
faculty, and staff may request an email account. While