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This page deals with common questions that the Postmaster deals with on a daily basis.
General
Q. How did I get this message? It's not addressed to me
A. One of the more frequently used methods of hiding email addresses is the Blind Carbon Copy (BCC). A BCC can be used as part of personal email to always copy one's self on all mail sent without adding extra visible headers. It is also used by spammers to deceive recipients as to who was actually supposed to get the mail message. An example is available.
Q. I've been asked to provide full headers to a email message that I have a question about. How do I do this?
A. The answer depends on the client being used. Please see displaying email headers page for information on how to do this with some popular email clients.
Q. I've been asked to provide the message source to an email I'd like to report as spam. How do I do this?
A. The answer depends on the client being used. Please see the displaying message source page for infomation on how to do this with some popular email clients.
Q. I just received mail from someone I don't know telling me I sent them a virus? What happened?
A. It has become very popular for email viruses to use address books that are found on infected machines as sources for new targets and for forging return addresses. This can lead to a situation where you get mail from someone you don't know complaining about you sending them a virus. It happens and there is very little that can be done about it at this time. For more information on reading email headers please see the stopspam site. If you are up to date on OS patches and anti-virus signatures (or running a OS that doesn't have any current virus problems) you can probably safely ignore this message. If you are unsure contact your local system administrator and ask them to check your machine.
Q. I can send email to people at Fermilab from my home ISP but I can't send email anywhere else. Why?
A. The Fermilab email gateway smtp.fnal.gov does not allow relaying. This was done to prevent people from using Fermilab as a distribution center for SPAM email. It is recommended that you set your email client's outgoing SMTP server to that of your ISP instead of smtp.fnal.gov or use authenticated SMTP
Q. When travelling away from the lab on business, what is the best way that I can access my email?
A. Make use of our webmail client. Since you connect to the imapserver via your web browser than mail sent will be seen as coming from onsite. Many travelers have found this solution works for them.Just point your web browser at the imap server that has your email on it https://imapserver(1/2/3).fnal.gov/. You will be prompted for a username and password. Enter your imap username and password and it will display your email.
You can also make use of the smtp server at the site you will be traveling to. If you will be somewhere for an extended stay please set your smtp server in your email client to point to the smtp server provided by that site. Then change it back to smtp.fnal.gov once you return.
Q. Is there online documentation on how to set your return email address?
A. There is documentation at http://www.fnal.gov/cd/main/reply.html.
Q. At times, I have gotten duplicate mail messages from a user here at fermilab. What is causing this?
A. There have been reports of duplicate e-mail messages to and from Fermilab users. To help find the source of these problems the Postmaster needs to know a number of details to investigate the problem. Please see the duplicate message page for details on what information you should send to the Postmaster .
Email Gateway
Q. How do I change my email forward?
A. You can change you mail forwarding on the web. Go to Mailserver User Options page. You will need to enter your email username and mail gateway password.
Q. I get a "Relay not allowed message" when sending mail.
A. The lab email gateway- smtp.fnal.gov is configured to not allow mail relaying. This means that any email sent from offsite and trying to go through smtp.fnal.gov and then offsite again will not be delivered. If you are sending email from your home system then contact your ISP to find out what smtp server you should use or configure your client to use authenticated SMTP.
Q. What to do about spam mail?
A. Unfortunately, aside from sending a message back to the originator asking them not to include you on this mailing, there isn't much we can do to prevent spam mail. For more information regarding the lab policy on email spam visit: http://computing.fnal.gov/email/policies/spam.html
IMAP
Q. How do I add a vacation message to my imap account?
A. To add a vacation message:
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1. Run a web browser and open the webmail interface for the server you read mail on:
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a. For imapserver1 accounts open http://imapserver1.fnal.gov/
b. For imapserver2 accounts open http://imapserver2.fnal.gov/
c. For imapserver3 accounts open http://imapserver3.fnal.gov/
2. Log into webmail.
3. Click on options.
4. Click on "Vacation Message" in the lower left corner of the screen.
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a. Fill in your vacation message.
b. Set the start and end dates
c. Check the box that says "Check this box to enable vacation messages."
d. Click on Save changes.
5. When returning from vacation, make sure to reenter this page and:
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a. UN-Check the box that says "Check this box to enable vacation messages."
b. Click on Save changes.
Q. Cannot download imap mail messages to Netscape.
A. The problem is local to the desktop- the local copy of the inbox has become corrupted and needs to be regenerated:
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1. Quit Netscape.
2. Locate your local inbox. It will probably be at
c:\programfiles\Netscape\Users\username\ImapMail\imapserverx.fnal.gov\Inbox.snm
3. Rename the inbox.snm to something else.
4. Invoke Netscape and your local inbox will be rebuilt from the inbox on the server.
ListServ
Q. The listserv box cannot process my email. The lab LISTSERV box sends back a rejection message of:
Your message is being returned to you unprocessed because it appears to have
already been distributed to the xxxxxxxxxxxxx list. That is, a message with
'username', Fermilab identical text (but possibly with different mail headers)
has been posted to the list recently, either by you or by someone else. If you
have a good reason.........
A. The LISTSERV software has built in protection from processing messages in a loop. Some automated programs will send an identical message to the listserv box. To turn off the loopchecking feature have the list owner modify the list configuration file by adding the line:
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Loopcheck= NoCRC,NoBody
That will keep the listserv software from checking for duplicates.
Q. How do I get a mail list created?
A. To create a mail list you will need to fill out the list request form
Q. Cannot manage email list even though I'm an owner.
A. Solution : The list owner address must match what your email client is configured to send your address as. If your list owner address is user@fnal.gov then your email client must be configured to send email as "user@fnal.gov" and not "user@machine.fnal.gov"
Q. Is there a brief summary of mail list commands?
A. There are 2 Web pages that give give brief but useful instructions on using/maintaining mail lists.
These are:
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http://listserv.fnal.gov/owners.html - for list owners and
http://listserv.fnal.gov/users.html - for list users
A more detailed guide is available
Netscape
Q. Why can't I see some/all of my folders?
Click on Refesh List to update the list. Make sure all the folders have the blue check mark next to them. If you have sub-folders you will need to expand the sub-folders and check the lower level folders. Click on OK and the folders should now be visible.
Q. Problems copying email folders in Netscape.
A. The problem is probably with the file name. Netscape has two files associated with every email folder: 'file' and 'file.snm'. If you name a folder with a "." at the end, Netscape gets really confused as you will have 'file.' and 'file..snm'
Netscape can also be cranky when copying folders from one location to another. The suggested copy method is as follows:
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1. Make an empty folder of the file name that you want.
2. Select the messages that you want to move to that folder.
3. Right-click and select MOVE to the desired location.
Q. How do I Configure Netscape to use the LDAP phone directory listing.
A. Steps required to setup the ldap phone directory with Netscape.
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1. Open Netscape
2. From the menubar, select Communicator->Address Book
3. From the address book menubar, select File->New Directory.
4. From the Directory Server Property popup window, fill in the following information for the GENERAL TAB.
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a. Description: LDAP@fnal
b. LDAP SERVER: ldap.fnal.gov
c. Search Root: o=fnal (where o is the letter o, not the number 0).
5. Click OK
6. Close the address book.
7. From the Netscape menubar, select EDIT->Prefereneces
8. Choose Mail & Newsgroups -> Addressing
9. Click the box next to Directory Server and select LDAP@fnal from the pulldown menu.
Q. Not receiving email
A. Under Edit / Preferences / Mail Servers in Netscape Communicator / Messenger, check what's configured for Incoming Mail Servers and Outgoing Mail Server. Your Incoming mail server should be set to imapserver3.fnal.gov and your Outgoing mail server name should be set to smtp.fnal.gov.
Q. Netscape, Outlook and Pine - can't see some folders in Netscape when folder is created by Pine and or Outlook.
A. Check your Netscape preferneces and make sure it is not set to show only subscribed folders. Click on Preferences: Mail & Newsgroups: Mail Servers: - make sure imapserver is 'selected' (highlighted), then clicked on: Edit, and move to the Advanced tab card. On that card, make sure 'Show only subscribed folders' is NOT selected!
Outlook/Outlook Express
Q. Why can't I see some/all of my folders?
A. Some Outlook Express users could not see their folders after the upgrade. They are there but not visible. In Outlook Express click on Tools, IMAP folders.
Click on reset list to update the list. Make sure all the folders have the little folder icon next to them. Click on OK and the folders should be visible.
Q. How do I set up my Home PC to access Fermi IMAP Server using Outlook Express?
A. Actually, our best recommendation to home users is to use the webmail interface. Just point your web browser at the imap server that has your email on it http://imapserver(1/2/3).fnal.gov/. You will be prompted for a username and password. Enter your imap username and password and it will display your email.If you still want to use Outlook Express from home then read on:
Different versions of Outlook Express have different setup steps, but most are similar. Here is how to set it up if your account is "username"@imapserver2.fnal.gov<
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1. Start Outlook Express.
2. Click on Tools->Accounts from the menubar. This opens the Internet Accounts popup window.
3. On the upper right corner of the Internet Accounts popup window, click ADD->MAIL. This opens the Internet Connection Wizard.
4. In the YOUR NAME window:
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a. Type your name
b. Click NEXT
5. In the internet email address window,
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a. Select "I already have an email address that I would like to use"
b. Email Address = "username"@fnal.gov
6. In the email Server Names window:
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a. IMPORTANT!!!! Use the pullown menu to select IMAP on the top line that says My incoming mail server is..... If this is set to POP3(which is the default option), it will not work properly.
b. Incoming mail server = imapserver2.fnal.gov
c. Outgoing smtp mail server = smtp.fnal.gov
d. Click NEXT
7. In the internet mail login window:
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a. Account Name = "username" (your imapserver username)
b. uncheck the box to remember password
Q. After I delete a message, it appears to get resent.
A. Users of Outlook Express (any version) using IMAP Servers may see read or deleted messages revert back to an unread state. This is due to Outlook Express incorrectly using multiple connections to the same mailbox.
This has helped many users -
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1. Exit Outlook Express and any Internet Explorer browsers.
2. Go to your Outlook Express folder at:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\identity number\Microsoft\Outlook Express
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3. Here, there will be a directory of .dbx files. Rename the following two:
imapserver# - Inbox.dbx
Inbox.dbx
Pine
Q. Pine doesn't seem to work right. Is something wrong?
A. Well - maybe. Check your version of Pine. It's visible when Pine first starts in the top left corner of the Pine screen. v4.1 appears to be the oldest version what works properly.
Q. Why can't I see my folders after I migrated to the newer IMAP servers?
A. A few Pine users could not see their folders. This turned out to from a change in the IMAPD process and how it handled the client request. To get the folders back go to the main Pine menu and select Setup, then Config. Take a look at the Folder Preferences section. It should be something like this;
[ Folder Preferences ]
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[X] combined-subdirectory-display
[X] combined-folder-display
[ ] enable-dot-folders
[ ] enable-incoming-folders
[X] enable-lame-list-mode
[X] expanded-view-of-folders
[X] quell-empty-directories
[X] separate-folder-and-directory-entries
[ ] single-column-folder-list
[ ] vertical-folder-list
The previous IMAPD worked with only expanded-view-of-folders selected. Save your configuration and take a look at your folders. They should all be there.
Q. Where is the user & technical pine documentation?
A. Documentation for most software products can be found by going to the following Web page, and then entering the search keyword 'pine' http://cddocs.fnal.gov/cfdocs/productsDB/docs.html
If you are using fermilab's ups/upd environment, you can also find pine documentation by doing the following:
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setup pine
cd $PINE_DIR/doc
ls
A third way to access pine documentation is to go directly to the Fermilab Web URL: http://www.fnal.gov/docs/products/pine/
Q. Pine confuses .xls (an Excel file) as MS-WORD - problem recognizing MIME types.
A. Here is how you can fix that.
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1) Pine looks first in /etc/mailcap, /etc/mime.types, and ~/.mime.types for special file types.
2) The XLS format is not defined in any of these in the standard Fermi configuration
3) Thus pine looks at the first few bytes of the binary file, which happen to be the same for MS Excel and MS word,
thus concluding that the file is a MS word file.
4) To defeat this, add the following line to your local .mime.types (and I presume it would work in /etc/mime.types
system-wide but I have not tried):
application/vnd.ms-excel xls XLS xlb
If you have other entries in this file, this one should go at the top of the file.
Once you do that, pine should recognize the attachment of this file as an excel file.
Q. Making pine start up netscape when it sees a URL link - pine configuration change
A. You need to define the pine parameter 'url-viewers='. This can be done by editing the .pinerc file, or by using going through the pine Setup \ Configuration screens (this parameter is one of the LAST parameters on the list.). You will also want to do a setup of netscape before starting pine.
The paramater value needs to be hard-coded - you cannot use an environmental variable. I use the Sun platform 'ossbud' to read my pine mail, so my definition looks like this:
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url-viewers=/afs/fnal/ups/netscape/v4_7/SunOS+5.5/bin/netscape
You will need to change the operating system flavor (IRIX+6, Linux+2. etc). If you read your pine mail on a non-Sun Unix or Linux system.
Q. Pine downloads my email instead of leaving it on the imapserver!
A. To force pine to leave email on the server go into your pine config menu, and change the following 2 parameters:
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1) set the 'read-message-folder' to the value "" (double quotes) - it will probably tell you that there is No Value Set
2) use the space bar to move down the page to the parameter block named: Advanced User Preferences make sure the box for the parameter 'auto-move-read-msgs' does NOT have an X in it.
Q. Pine's response time is slow. Is there a way to speed it up?
A. Unix Pine users have reported slow response when first connecting to IMAPServer1 or when changing folders. The UAS group resolved this with a change to the .pinerc file. Set the following parameter in .pinerc.
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rsh-open-timeout=0
This keeps Pine from attempting to use rshell to connect to IMAPServer1 and greatly improves performance.
Q. Mail comes in with unwrapped lines, and they are too long for the printer. They *appear* to be ok on the screen, because pine and/or exmh takes care of wrapping lines visually. But when you try to print the file, the text reverts to being one long record (per paragraph) and gets truncated at @85-90 characters. Can this be fixed?
A. (UNIX only, and only in a FUE environment) If you have access to a PostScript printer (most people do), then use a2ps -f.
First you need a .flprrc file in your $HOME directory which includes the lines:
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host fnprt.fnal.gov
queue your_favorite_printer
so that the command "flpr" will go to your favorite queue. If you don't know the name of the queue you want to use, you can find out the names of *all* printers via -
$ obtain printers
$ cat flp.printers
Or ask a neighbor.
Then you must configure your mail reader to use this command.
In pine:
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S[etup]
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P[rinter]
Use down-arrow key to get to the line "Personally selected print command"
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A[dd]
Enter printer name: your_favorite_printer
Enter command for printer: a2ps -f | flpr
E[xit]
Y[es, commit changes]
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