File:BCCemail
From BCC WIKI
[edit] Introducing BristolCC.edu
We recently announced that the College’s website address will now be http://www.bristolcc.edu In addition to that change we will be moving toward a more standard approach for email addresses for employees of the college and begin to transition to the format firstname.lastname@bristolcc.edu. The following FAQ which will hopefully answer many of your questions. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact us at ext. 2134 for clarification or additional information.
Why did we change the Bristol website address to www.bristolcc.edu?
During late summer we increased our Internet connectivity considerably and while there are limited options in the region, we were able to secure additional bandwidth priced “reasonably” from a local Internet Service Provider (ISP). The College has never owned bristol.mass.edu as mass.edu is owned by UMass; we were simply a sub-domain through them. As we transition away from services provided by the University we needed to establish our own identity. Most colleges who are unable to acquire an address using their acronym (BCC.edu is not available) typically select part of their name followed by cc. The University will forward any Internet or email traffic from bristol.mass.edu to bristolcc.edu for at least a year. Bristolcommunitycollege.edu has been used during the last few years and will be forwarded for one year also.
Why are we changing the email name before the '@' sign?
We are no longer limited by our current format of first initial followed by up to seven characters of last name. Many messages are routed incorrectly because people attempt to guess BCC user email addresses. Additionally, we have a number of employees with the same first initial and last name combination. The “mass” in our email addresses has also been a source of confusion as the official abbreviation for Massachusetts is “ma” and other agencies in the state use this convention.
Your former email address will continue to work until we are certain that no messages will be lost. This process will likely take more than a year or two. You are encouraged to begin to use your new email address immediately to help with this transition. You will be notified as we make this change because messages sent to your old address after that time will be returned to the sender.
When does the email address change go into effect?
Your new email address is now available for your use. Please do not hesitate to call us if you are unsure of your exact email address.
What name is going to be used before the '@' sign?
Your email name will be the first and last name as they appear on your Social Security Card or Federal or State-issued ID card. This is the name you should include on the Computer and Telephone Request Form. If you have a preferred name, you may request that name be used for your email address.
What if I want to use a different or preferred name?
If you wish to use a preferred name for your email address, please indicate your request on a Computer and Telephone Request Form. This change will only affect your College email address and does NOT apply to accessBCC email at this time. A preferred name is a name that you are professionally and commonly known. Your preferred first or last name cannot be a single letter (e.g. l.smith@bristolcc.edu or joe.t@bristolcc.edu). If you request a preferred name, your original full name will remain active and you will receive email from that address also.
Can I have more than one preferred email address?
To promote consistency, ITS will create one preferred email name per user. Additional email name requests will be considered on an exception basis.
What is a primary email address?
For employees, firstname.lastname@bristolcc.edu (or the preferred email name) is considered your primary email address. This address is the one that will automatically appear in the From line within email messages sent from Outlook or Outlook Web Access. This is important because the primary address is the address that users you send messages to will see, including any listserves to which you belong.
So just how many College email addresses (excluding accessBCC) addresses do I have?
During the transition period people will be able to reach you using up to four possible email addresses:
- New email name and new web address: elizabeth.smithson@bristolcc.edu
- Preferred email name and the new web address: liz.smithson@bristolcc.edu
- Former email name and former web address: esmithso@bristol.mass.edu
- Former email name and new web address: esmithso@bristolcc.edu
Option 1 should be the email address you begin to communicate to others as we attempt to standardize addresses. This avoids confusion and promotes consistency. Option 2 is an example of an email address with a preferred first name. For at least one year, messages sent to you at the above addresses will find you!
Will the email name include middle initials?
The email name will not include middle initials, except in cases of duplicates
Will the email name include Jr, Sr, III, etc.?
The email name will not include suffixes, except in cases of duplicates.
Will the email name include hyphens (-) or other non-alphabetic characters if they are part of my name (e.g. joan.jones-smith@bristolcc.edu or mary-ann.smith@bristolcc.edu)?
Yes, if you include it on the Computer and Telephone Request Form. The following characters cannot be used:
Apostrophes (’) will cause issues with many mail systems and cannot be used. Accents (e.g. é, etc.) will not be reflected in your email name.
Will the email name include capital letters (e.g. Jane.Smith@bristolcc.edu)?
No, there will be no capitals in the email address. However, if someone uses capital letter when sending you an email message, the mail will still reach you as our email system disregards capitalization.
Will this change affect the login or user name I use to access my computer (BCC network), Banner, or Boris?
No, your existing login or user name (first initial + up to seven character of last name) will continue to be used to access these systems. At some point we might consider extending the length of the login names for these systems.
Will the new email address format be used for accessBCC?
We expect to upgrade accessBCC in the near future and we are researching the feasibility of changing these addresses to be more in line with this new format.
How will these changes affect listserves for which I am a member?
You will likely need to re-subscribe (unsubscribe and then subscribe again) to your listserves. Please let us know if you need assistance on the steps to follow.
Do any changes need to be made on my office computer?
No.
What about generic email accounts for sending messages to departments or multiple people (e.g. admissions@bristolcc.edu)?
The format will remain the same for these accounts.
How will others know about my email address change?
You will need to tell those you communicate with that you have a new email address.
