Editorial

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Editorials | Send mail to The Voice Multnomah's Webmail Needs Redesigning Let's face it--the Webmail server needs some help. The Information Systems Department will replace it soon, but because plans have not been solidified, The Voice staff would like to make a few suggestions. The quality of Webmail's current interface hasn't been seen since the days of AOL 1.0. How cool the Web site looks is not on the top of the list of improvements, but for the amount of money Multnomah puts into ISD, the visual aspects of the interface should be improved. Webmail doesn't offer many customizing options, and the ones it does have could be better organized. For increased efficiency in the toolbar, icons should assist words rather than replace them. Spam blockers are needed if students ever plan to use their accounts for purposes other than Multnomah mail. Even students who don't accidentally give their e-mail address to spammers have friends who will give out their address. To solve the spam problem, Microsoft, Hotmail and Yahoo have created a filter with an attached junk mail folder. E-mail classified as junk mail is placed in the junk mail folder for a week, until they are automatically deleted. MBC should provide something similar. An online address book is essential. Typing up every e-mail address each time a student sends an e-mail is terribly inefficient, and storing addresses in other places is an inconvenience. Most online address books allow the user to select an address from a list. All of the addresses selected can be automatically attached to the new e-mail letter. Most services that offer free e-mail, such as Hotmail or Yahoo, have anti-virus scanning software built into their system, which allows scanning files for viruses and deleting potential threats. A simple virus scanner would help the network better free itself from viruses and spyware. The reliability of any e-mail system is key to its success. ISD said the system they are using went out of date a year ago, and many students have recently had their e-mail accounts erased. Although "reliability" and "Internet" are words that are rarely used together in a positive context, without reliability, WebMail is pointless. Multnomah needs the technology of tomorrow. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Editorials | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2004 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.