In the fall of 2007, iCIT asked for feedback on this SpamTalk blog, to better understand the effects of email spam and to ask for recommendations for the appropriate level of spam message filtering. As you can see from the comments posted on this blog, spam is clearly identified as a problem, and the majority of respondents are asking for tools and additional training to more effectively manage spam themselves.
In response to this request, instructions have been made available online, describing how to use junk mail rules, filters, and lists in Outlook and Entourage: http://www.uww.edu/icit/services/email/junkmailfiltering.html
Be aware that Outlook Web Access (OWA) does not yet provide spam filtering capabilities, which has been a real issue for UW-W students. This will be addressed during summer 2008, when we will implement a new version of the Exchange system that will add junk mail filtering capabilities to OWA by the fall semester.
We want to thank everyone for their input to the spam problem; this information helps to form future direction and strategy.
April 18th, 2008
This blog is for you to provide feedback and perspectives on your experiences with spam at UW-Whitewater. Spam is a global problem that’s getting worse every day.
Current estimates suggest that as much as 95% of all email traffic on the Internet is spam.
The challenge for all email administrators is that what some people think is valuable information is spam for others.
Join the fight
We need your assistance in striking an appropriate balance between the fight against spam and the fight for open communications in a University environment. To that end, we are asking you to contribute to this online discussion to help us understand:
- In what ways has the spam problem affected you?
- No anti-spam tool is 100% accurate in identifying spam messages. How aggressive should UWW be in eliminating potential spam messages, recognizing that some legitimate messages may be blocked as well? Would you rather spend time sorting spam messages out of your inbox or looking through a spam folder for legitimate messages?
- To what degree would you like to manage your own spam filtering? Should the university have a comprehensive filter for the whole campus, or should the university only block the most obvious spam and let you manage your own anti-spam settings in email tools like Outlook?
Please submit your comments to this blog by clicking on the ‘comments‘ link below to help us understand your perspectives on the questions above.
November 26th, 2007