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When you obtain a unique identity on the internet, called a domain name, you can then use this identity for your website and for e-mail addresses. The Leipper Management group will provide either a custom domain name, such as SierraNevadaAirstreams.org, at a nominal fee or a free domain name such as snu.leipper.org that does not require any special registration or fee. The association domain name provides an identity for the association that can be used in e-mail messages and communications.
Any e-mail address using the association identity or domain name can be routed to one or more individual e-mail accounts or can be set up with its own mailbox. These capabilities can be used by your association to keep individual e-mail addresses private, to make it easy to address committee members or working groups, and to do other things that can improve association communications.
A functional address is one that is related to an association function or activity. Examples (using the Sierra Nevada Unit of the WBCCI domain name) include the following.
president@SierraNevadaAirstreams.org - e-mail sent to this address will be routed to the current president. When a new president is elected, the routing is changed so it will go to the new president's e-mail address. Each association officer may have an address like this so e-mail can be sent to an association officer by title and it will go to the person who is currently holding that office.
membership@SierraNevadaAirstreams.org - provides an example of an e-mail address that can be used to route messages to the committee chair in charge of membership inquiries.
Functional addresses remain consistent from year to year which reduces confusion about what address is the current address to communicate with the association. Because the private e-mail addresses of association leaders are not disclosed, they can remain private without any hindrance to association business. Since routing can be to more than one address, messages can be archived and tracked as may be needed for accounting or legal purposes.
Have you ever received an e-mail with a whole list of addresses in the 'cc' list? There are better ways to send a message to a group of people. Several of these are supported by the Leipper Management Group.
The announcement list uses a subscription mechanism where a person who wants announcements on a particular topic can go to a web page to subscribe or unsubscribe to the list. Any subscription is confirmed in order to prevent unwanted e-mail messages. The only way to send out messages is via a protected mechanism.
The discussion list also uses a subscription mechanism but allows any subscriber to submit a message for all other subscribers to receive.
Email forwarding is a means by which messages sent to an e-mail address will be forwarded to a defined set of people. For instance directors@snu.leipper.org could be set up so that any e-mail message sent to this address is forwarded to all members of the board of directors. Anyone can send a message to the group using the e-mail address.
The custom broadcast list is integrated with the LMG Membership Organization Support System (MOSS) and allows sending a message from headquarters to any selected set of e-mail addresses in the association community.
E-mail has a dark side. SPAM is unsolicited commercial messaging. Attachments may contain software, called worms or viruses, that can create havoc on an individual PC or the network. The Leipper Management Group can help your association reduce the impact of these problems in your association e-mail.