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Empowering Campus Communication:. The University of Texas at Austin Group E-Mail System. Tim Chamberlain Deanna Bearden. Introduction. Ability to manage and distribute official university bulk e-mail Can contact any group on campus Decentralized system designed for flexibility and growth
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Empowering Campus Communication: The University of Texas at Austin Group E-Mail System Tim Chamberlain Deanna Bearden
Introduction • Ability to manage and distribute official university bulk e-mail • Can contact any group on campus • Decentralized system designed for flexibility and growth • Only faculty and staff may send messages
Background Web Interface System Details Strengths & Limitations Q & A Agenda
Background • Late 1990’s UT Austin had need for: • Ability to reach large number of students & employees • Ability to target specific groups • Up-to-date e-mail lists using data from Mainframe • Centralized system with monitoring capabilities • Group E-Mail went live in 1999 • Flexible system design • Keeping up with campus needs
Web Interface Main processes: • User requests authorization • Administrator grants or denies request • User generates unique e-mail list • User sends e-mail through personal e-mail client within UT network
System Details Main processes: • User requests authorization • Administrator grants or denies request • User generates unique e-mail list • User sends e-mail through personal e-mail client within UT network
Authorization Process Requestor Web Interface TXTABLES Main Natural Module TXNPBMOO Secure E-mail Module Secure E-mail Module Gatekeeper APOLLO Yes No Natural Module Authorize? The End
E-Mail List Generation Group E-mail module finds and calls specific list creation module TXTABLES List creation module creates dataset of e-mail addresses Original E-mail Dataset Batch job runs to remove users that have unsubscribed from Informational messages Revised E-mail Dataset FTP step transfers list and policy file to Bulk Mail Server. List name mapped to the unique e-mail address generated for user. Policy File To Bulk Mail Server
E-Mail Delivery BMDS: unique address matched to recipient list, audited, delivered User’s E-Mail Client Unique e-mail address • Must send from UT Network • Plain Text Only • No Attachments • Message Type must be • specified in subject • Only one use per address • generated • Reply all won’t spam list
Strengths • Only University-sanctioned messages • Real-time list generation • Easily targets specific groups • Centralized interface/decentralized system • Can accept custom lists • Ability to unsubscribe
Limitations • Lack of formatting • Possibility of delays • Passive moderation • Must send from University e-mail account • Lack of control over the decentralized generation modules
Q & A • Questions? • Contact us: • Tim Chamberlain tim.chamberlain@austin.utexas.edu • Deanna Bearden dbearden@austin.utexas.edu