A Reminder of the Appropriate Use of E-mail and Computer Resources

At times the Computer Services staff must view the contents of e-mail messages and computer files as they service e-mail accounts and troubleshoot software on a user's computer. It has been apparent in the past few months that some staff and faculty are misusing computer resources. Computer resources are to be used solely for legitimate and authorized academic and administrative purposes.

Read the Employees' Policies and Procedures Manual (pp. 14- 17) to review your rights, responsibilities and potential consequences regarding the use of college computer resources.

One area where the college computer network continues to experience increased traffic is in the use of e-mail. Improper or inappropriate use of e-mail puts a burden on the network that can result in longer response times and loss of resources for legitimate users. Keep the following in mind when using e-mail.

Personal E-Mail:

The question comes up about personal e-mail and whether its use by staff and faculty is permitted.

“You should know that the Chancellor has construed the policies to permit incidental, occasional use of computer resources, including E-mail for personal purposes. However, consistent regular personal use, whether or not for personal financial gain, is not permitted."

Totally inappropriate use would be e-mail that alerts you to changes in the value of your stock portfolios, e-mail about the latest Costco buys, e-mail with store coupons attached, or e-mails from a bulletin board service regarding your hobbies or other personal interests. You should not be using your college e-mail account for such personal purposes. Instead, use a private e-mail account at home to send and receive these types of messages.

Campus-wide E-Mails:

When preparing a message for campus-wide e-mail distribution, please consider the importance of the message. It's very easy to click the Send button and instantly everyone receives your notice of an upcoming event or some other announcement. It's a great avenue for "getting the word out". Just be sure it's important enough that others are not "bothered" with taking the time to read it. An e-mail distribution to everyone on campus requires bandwidth and disk space - it's not a trivial matter!

Chain letters:

Everyone knows what chain letters are and receiving one can make a person feel obligated to respond by continuing the chain letter. Using email to sending chain letters can result in your receiving a vast number of messages that take up bandwidth and disk space. Please do not send chain letters.

Hoaxes:

There are a lot of hoaxes floating around the internet, such as warnings about the nonexistent Good Times virus (which was never true) and a cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus (which was never true). Please do not perpetuate these hoaxes by sending them to others. Contact the Computer Services department if you have concerns.