Frequently Asked Questions

Student e-mail is hosted on a Linux system using an open source product called Cyrus mail. E-mail for students can be accessed using a variety of tools. The University supports SpiderMail for accessing e-mail. SpiderMail is a browser interface to the e-mail server. SpiderMail is based on freely available open source software. It can be easily extended and modified to suit the changing needs of UR students. If you have a suggestion for improvements to SpiderMail, e-mail network@richmond.edu.

For those who prefer to chose their own e-mail client, IMAP4 access is available through the Unix mail server. The use of such client software for e-mail access other than SpiderMail is not supported by User Services. Anyone wishing to use client software other then SpiderMail may do so without support for the client. Configuration information for IMAP.

Please see Faculty/Staff Types of E-mail.

• SpiderMail is supported for the UNIX based e-mail services.
• Outlook and MS Outlook Web Access are supported for MSExchange services.
• Other IMAP4 clients will work with the university e-mail services, but the use of the client software is not supported by the Help Desk.

Students: Students will be allowed to keep up to 100 MB of e-mail on the server. Mail left in the trash folder will automatically be deleted after 30 days. A reminder will be sent to all users when their mailbox reaches approximately 80% capacity. If a mailbox reaches 100% capacity, mail will no longer be delivered until the mailbox has been cleaned out.

Places to check when cleaning up your mailbox include the trash folder and the sent items folder. Try to save attachments off of the mail server and on your local hard drive or your Saturn network space.

Faculty/Staff: Faculty and staff have an e-mail quota of 200 MB on the server. Reminders are sent when 80% capacity has been reached. Exchange users have the capability of archiving older files to their desktop computers to be able to keep older messages without filling up the server.

Yes, many viruses and worms are spread through the e-mailing of infected files. In order to help mitigate this spread, we block many types of attachments especially those types of executables that are known to carry viruses. If you have a question about a specific type of file attachment that is being blocked, please contact the Help Desk.

It is especially important to understand that we are blocking .zip files. Generally, if you feel it is important to send or receive zip files if you rename the file extension or add another extension after the .zip, it will pass through the scan and be delivered. It can then be renamed to just .zip and executed locally. List of Blocked Extensions

University systems limit the size of any single e-mail message to 10 MB. This includes the size of any attachments.

In SpiderMail the limit is 50 e-mail addresses. In Exchange, we recommend that no more than 250 addresses be used in any single e-mail message.

A list serv is a special server to help create, manage, and maintain e-mail lists. These are used when a group or organization want to communicate to a number of constituents so that each person on the list does not need to manage the list locally. Richmond provides list servs for University-sponsored groups and departments. Please see Mail List (Mailman) for more information.

Yes, in fact we encourage departments to have a departmental e-mail address for Web pages and correspondece so that as employees come and go, the address remains the same.  Please see the Departmental Services page for further information about this and other services available.

Student Organization requests must be made through the Office of Student Activities.

Information about spam

All faculty, staff and students are required to use the University of Richmond version of Sophos AntiVirus.  If your computer reports it found a virus, please read the message in its entirety.  If it deleted the virus, you are fine.  If the virus was left alone or quarantined, please contact the Help Desk for removal instructions.  Viruses can cause data loss and cause programs to lose funtionality.  Please do not delay action if you ahve been notified you have a virus.  Serious damage to your coputer or the network could occur.  For more information see Virus Help.

Yes, e-mail can be forwarded. There is a Web page to use for forwarding mail from off campus. This will also work for those who use SpiderMail.

If you are an Exchange user, a forward must also be set inside of exchange using the rules wizard. If this is not done, only outside mail will be forwarded, not messages from other exchange users.

SpiderMail

Under "Options," "Message Filters," hit the "add a new rule button," select "all messages," move to step 2, and click the "vacation" button.

Outlook Exchange

Click "tools," then "Out of Office Assistant," and follow instructions.

• See Termination of Accounts
• What can I do to clean up my e-mail before leaving?

The University of Richmond provides the capability for alumni to set up a forwarding of their Richmond e-mail account to another outside e-mail address. Alumni can manage this forwarding through the e-mail forwarding Web interface.

The Office of Alumni Affairs has a free, password-protected online community for Richmond alumni. Uronline.net provides many ways for you to keep in touch with your classmates, other alumni, and the University. One option is an e-mail forwarding service where you may choose your e-mail address at uronline.net and have that e-mail forwarded to an account of your choosing. Other features include a searchable alumni directory, the alumni career network, and the capability for you to instantly update your own information and designate what information you want to make available to others through the online community. Future services will include discussion boards and a class connections feature. To find out more, visit uronline.net.