Computing & Information Services
Message Filtering
Spam FilteringWhitelists and Blacklists
Email Forwarding
Vacation Tools
Webmail allows the creation of custom filters to help you organize messages. To manage these filters, click on the Filters/Vacation tab at the top of the page.
To add a filter, click the New Rule button at the bottom of the list of rules. On the next screen, you can define criteria that a message must match, and then define an action to take with messages matching your defined criteria. Click Save to save the filter.
Spam Filtering
Webmail is configured by default to include a spam filter. Messages with characteristics unique to junk mail will be detected and automatically stored in the Spam folder. It is advisable to check the Spam folder occasionally to make sure that non-spam messages are not being accidentally filtered out.
You may adjust the sensitivity of the spam filter by editing the Spam filter in the list of filters. In the X-Spam-Level category, you can adjust the sensitivity of the filter: more asterisks means less sensitive (and also decreases the likelihood that actual spam will be filtered out), while less * means more sensitive (but increases the chance that legitimate messages will be filtered out).
If you are interested in learning more about Reed's stance and policies towards spam, please read our page on spam filtering.
Whitelists and Blacklists
Whitelists and blacklists are two additional filters. A blacklist, as the name implies, is a list of email addresses which are never allowed into your inbox. Addresses on a whitelist, on the other hand, are always accepted, even if you have another rule which would otherwise filter it. (For example, you could block all emails coming from a Yahoo account, and then put your best friend's Yahoo address in a whitelist.)
To manage your (black/white)lists, edit them in the Existing Rules section under the Filters/Vacation tab. Specify an e-mail address and also an action to take. Make sure that the filter is activated if you would like for it to be implemented.
Email Forwarding
You can have Webmail forward your emails to other email accounts like Gmail or Yahoo mail. For information on how to setup email forwarding, click here.
Vacation Tools
The vacation setting allows you to specify an auto-response to any messages you receive during a prolonged period of absence. Its function is analogous to that of an away message in an instant messaging client.
The vacation setting should be activated if you expect to be unavailable by e-mail for an extended period of time. To activate the auto-responder, go to the Filters/Vacation tab and select the Vacation filter. The Subject of vacation message and Reason will fill in the auto-response Subject and Body of the response e-mail. If you click on the Advanced Settings tab, you may also specify addresses that you wish never to auto-respond to, such as a mailing list. It is advisable to also check the box denoted "Do not send responses to bulk or list messages". The Number of days between vacation replies: setting specifies a delay between auto-response messages to the same person. For example, if Andrew sends Bob two messages in one day, and Bob has set his delay to 1 day, Andrew would only receive a single auto-response message.
Click Save to save the changes. Finally, make sure to activate the filter by clicking the icon under the Enabled category in the rules list so that it turns into a green check mark.