Do's and Don'ts of Getting Your Campus Message Out Via Email

Lucy Lynch
listmaster@lists.uoregon.edu

If you want to get your word out to a large group on campus, your first thought may be to do an unsolicited mass mailing. But please think again. In today's worlds, almost everyone is deluged with more daily email messages than they can handle; adding to that burden may not be well received, and your message could even be discarded unread.

Remember, users' needs may differ from yours, and they have several options for dealing with unwanted mail. These include opting out of a list, filtering, and even removing themselves from the UO directory (see the directory information section at the end of this aricle).

So what should you do? Below is a summary of types of mailngs, ranked in order of preference. Five stars indicate the most desirable mailing type, and zero stars, the least desirable. Remember that one of the most tried and true methods of sending out important information campus-wide is to ask your dean or director to send your message to the Deans and Directors' mailing list (deans-dirs@oregon). The deans and directors subscribed to that list can then disseminate your information to their groups as they deem appropriate.

Opt-in List *****
The opt-in list (announced in print, on a website, via a top level web page, etc.). This kind of list can be easily created and maintained using Majordomo.

One-time Mailing to Stand-Alone Database **
A one-time mailing to a stand-alone database with opt-in instructions for a Majordomo list and a pointer to your website or list archive.

Subscribers Added without Notice *
Users are added (without notice) to an ongoing list with a clear statement of purpose and opt-out instructions.

No Easy Way Out (1/2 star)
Users are added to a list with no way to opt out without extraordinary measures (i.e., lists are built on the fly from a data warehouse for each mailing). This will require that message senders keep a secondary database of email addresses to be deleted from the main database before each mailing in order to honor REMOVE requestsÑall of which requires custom programming and very good record keeping.

No Way Out at All (zero stars)
No way out for list members. Users' email information will begin to drop out of the campus directory when they realize that the only way to avoid unwanted email is to remove their email address from the directory. This will reduce the usefulness of the directory, and puts the onus on users to provide their email information to the individuals or groups they want to communicate with directly.

Questions to ask before you start

1. Who is your audience? Do they need to see the message you're sending? If your message looks anything like marketing, sending it to users who didn't ask to receive your traffic is a bad idea! See ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2635.txt
   
2. Is receiving your email a condition of employment/membership/enrollment/etc.? If so, be clear in the initial mailing, and limit posts to just the required messages. Don't use one list for several levels of messages, or recipients will lose interest in your primary message and ignore your mail.
   
3. Try to estimate your list volume. How many messages will you be sending? How often? If you plan to issue regular bulletins, please consider a one-time announcement with a pointer to a website. If you plan to send more than one message a term, you should plan to use either an opt-in list or (worst case) an opt-out list with clearly defined unsubscribe instructions included in the footer of every message.
   
4. Is your list for announcements only, or do you want to allow member discussion? Any discussion list should be created as a majordomo list, and users must have the option to drop out.
   
5. Where do replies go? There should be a human moderator available for any mass mailing. The moderator should respond to all questions about the list in a timely manner, and should be prepared to explain the purpose and constraints of the list when asked.
   
6. Do you need an archive? Will it need to be web accessible? If you plan to issue regular bulletins, you should consider storing those messages in a web-based archive so users have access to the information even if they don't read their email.
   

If You Must Send a Mass Mailing...
If you have considered all your options, and still feel you have a legitimate reason for sending unsolicited mail, you'll need to follow these guidelines:

1. The Subject line for regular mass mailings should always begin with a keyword that will allow users to filter their incoming mail:
   
   Subject: [KEYWORD]: your subject here
   
   
2. The first line in the body of message should contain the original mailing address (this is needed for debugging if delivery fails):
   
   Original message sent to [FULL ADDRESS]
   
   
3. All unsolicited mass mailing must contain the following boiler plate:
   
   You received this email message [BECAUSE] based in information found in [DATA SOURCE]. If you have questions or comments about this email please contact [FULL NAME], [DEPARTMENT/UNIT] at [Phone #] or [EMAIL ADDRESS]
   
   
4. If you want to maintain an opt-out list, add something like the following (and honor requests you receive!):
   

If you would like your name excluded from any future mailings please reply to this message with the single word REMOVE in the subject line or body of the message.
A message from the listmaster to campus list-owners might look like this:
Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2001 14:45:27 -0800
From: Lucy E. Lynch <llynch@darkwing.uoregon.edu>
To: someone@yahoo.com
Subject: LISTOWNERS: Majordomo Workshops Spring 2001
Original message sent to owner-testlist@lists.uoregon.edu
You received this email message for UO majordomo list owners based on information found in majordomo configuration files. If you have questions or comments about this email please contact:
Lucy Lynch, Computing Center at 346-1774 or listmaster@lists.uoregon.edu
[message body here]
--------------------------------------------

Below are some examples of mass mailing policies at other large institutions:

University of Iowa:
http://www.its.uiowa.edu/its/cs/email/massmail/announce.htm

Indiana University:
http://www.itpo.iu.edu/survey.html
http://www.itpo.iu.edu/bulk.html

University of California at Berkeley:
http://socrates.berkeley.edu:7015/policy/mass.ml.html

Georgia Tech:
http://www.whistle.gatech.edu/archives/98/nov/2/email.html

UO Directory Information
Below is the information you'll need to access and manage your UO directory listings. Links to information on confidentiality are also provided:

Students: Students with university email accounts will appear in the electronic student directory unless they file a Restriction of Directory Information form. For more information, go to http://registrar.uoregon.edu/students/studentrecords/confid.html

Faculty and Staff: Faculty and staff can manage their email addresses using DuckWeb, and are not required to list an email address. However, removing your addres can make it difficult for others to reach you.

For more information on the confidentiality of UO employee records, see http://hr.uoregon.edu/records/employee-data.html

For comparison, see how OSU handles confidentiality of directory information at http://www.orst.edu/registrar/forms/confid.htm