MTURFC-0002						June 1, 1995


	The Sending of Mass E-mail at Michigan Technological University


Status of this Memo

	This memo is the official opinion statement from the MTUSYSADM
	group concerning mass e-mail at Michigan Technological University.
	It does not describe a technical standard.  Distribution of this
	memo is unlimited.

1.  As a general rule, we oppose unsolicited mass e-mail at MTU.

	Our concern is that unsolicited mass mail will be regarded as
	junk mail; in addition to placing undue burden on our mail
	servers, this will reduce the perceived importance (and thus
	the effectiveness) or e-mail in general.

2.  However, MTU should be able to handle the creation and maintenance
    of large, voluntary-subscription e-mail lists.

	This would necessitate the installation of a separate list server:
	a machine of reasonably high capacity, and a software package
	designed to handle numerous high-traffic, large-subscription lists.
	The features required (or desired) in such a package include, but
	are not limited to:

        * Moderated lists (messages are routed through a person who
          screens them for appropriateness and redirects them) 

        * Closed lists (only certain people can post to the list)

        * Load balancing (the software spreads the load of large 
          mailings over time to prevent severe performance degradation)

        * Host-restricted posting [desirable] (only specified hosts can
          post to the list)
 
3.  Departments should be able to create mandatory-subscription, internal
    lists that are internally managed and regulated (moderated and/or closed).

4.  We recommend the use of the "Ann Roth Tree" method for distribution of
    administrative-type mass mailings.

	This involves creating a tree-like list of contact people.
	Requests for such a mass mailing would be directed to the
	person(s) at the top of the tree who would then forward the
	message to the next lower tree members, typically
	representatives from each of the departments at MTU.  Those
	people, in turn, would decide whether the message concerns the
	department they represent and either pass it on or discard it.

5.  We can't force people to be intelligent e-mail users. User education 
    will likely alleviate some of our e-mail problems, but policy alone
    is less likely to do so.