Email FAQ

• How do I access my email with a graphical client such as Thunderbird?

  Please see the Email section of our website for more information.

• How do I forward new mail to another email address?

  Create a file in your home directory named .procmailrc. If you already have such a file, you should add these lines to the end. Replace "foo@bar.com" with the address to which you would like to forward email.

  :0
! foo@bar.com

  PLEASE NOTE: If you want a copy of your email to be on the math server as well as forwarded elsewhere, use :0c instead in the above exmaple /p>

  If you would like to filter spam before forwarding your email (this is the preferred method), add these lines above the previous code:

  :0:
* (^X-Spam-Status: Yes)
SPAM

  Then, add a folder to collect spam with this command:

  touch mail/SPAM

• How do I put a vacation message on my email?

  1. Once you've logged into a terminal, type vacation
  2. Edit the vacation message and then save the file and exit your editor
  3. When asked if you would like to enable your vacaction message, type Yes. Once this is done the vacation message will be sent to anyone who sends you an email.
  4. When you would like to turn off the vacation program, type vacation at the prompt and then enter Yes when asked if you would like to disable the vacation message.

• How do I forward my Athena mail?

  Log onto the Athena system and at the command prompt issue the command:

  chpobox -s username@math.mit.edu

  When you no longer want the mail forwarded issue the following command:

  chpobox -p

  These will not take effect until the next day after running the command.

• How can I download my Math mail to gmail?

  You can download and view your math email in your gmail account. Please note that we cannot troubleshoot problems with gmail, or recover any lost email once it is in the gmail system. Use this feature at your own risk.

  1. Log in to gmail and click on Settings in the upper right corner.
  2. Click on Add POP3 email account.
  3. Enter your math email address, then click next.
  4. Enter your username and password. Enter heaviside.mit.edu for the POP server, and set the Port to 995. Check boxes for Leave a copy... and Always use a secure connection..., and the other two options if you would like. Click Add Account.
  5. Select No then click Finish.
  6. Please note that if you have alot of mail, it may take several minutes for gmail to download all of your messages.