IEEE Personal E-mail Alias Service FAQ

IEEE E-mail Alias Service

1. Can I have an email alias in each of the IEEE.org, computer.org and comsoc.org domains?
2. Are e-mail lists which are maintained outside of IEEE’s list service or Virtual Communities subject to these guidelines?
3. Do the IEEE spam and virus filtering processes retain copies of email going through the alias system?
4. If I have concerns or questions about IEEE Email Policies or Guidelines who can I ask?
5. I forgot my IEEE Username and/or IEEE Password so I can update my IEEE Alias, please tell me what it is.
6. How can I have my IEEE alias forward to two e-mail addresses?
7. Can I have two IEEE aliases?
8. I just updated my IEEE alias information, but why is e-mail sent to my IEEE alias still going to the old forwarding address?
9. How do I change my IEEE alias from auser@ieee.org to a.user@ieee.org?
10. I have an IEEE alias, but how can I send e-mail using my IEEE alias?
11. How do I get access to my IEEE e-mail?
12. Is there an e-mail web interface like hotmail so I can view my IEEE e-mail?
13. I sent a test message to my IEEE alias and I never received it.
14. I have sent a test message to my IEEE alias and it took a long time for it to be forwarded.
15. Is there a message size limit for e-mail sent to my IEEE alias?

Spam

1. Why am I receiving spam at my IEEE alias?
2. How did the sender of the spam message get my IEEE alias information?
3. I am receiving spam sent to my IEEE alias, can the IEEE block it? Can you form a lisr of addresses or sites and block them?

Policy

1. With regard to IEEE Mailing lists, what is IEEE business?
2. Are SAMIEEE extracts done by Organizational Units (OUs) (or staff on behalf of OUs) for meeting notices or newsletters or even conference announcements/call for papers considered lists created for a "specific purpose"?
3. When it is appropriate to include a member email addresses in a Mailing list without the member's consent?

IEEE E-mail Alias Service

Q1. Can I have an email alias in each of the IEEE.org, computer.org and comsoc.org domains?

A. Yes – if you qualify, each requires membership in that portion of IEEE.

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Q2. Are e-mail lists which are maintained outside of IEEE’s list service or Virtual Communities subject to these guidelines?

A.In some areas, yes – for example, actions inconsistent with IEEE Ethics would be subject to review for any such lists. The prohibition against IEEE electioneering applies to all lists maintained on IEEE systems (even if not the formal systems) if the list is not designated for that purpose.

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Q3. Do the IEEE spam and virus filtering processes retain copies of email going through the alias system?

A. No. These tools do need to scan the content of email to classify it and/or detect known virus code, however once this is compete the email is not retained.

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Q4. If I have concerns or questions about IEEE Email Policies or Guidelines who can I ask?

A. ITSC (Information Technology Strategy Committee) is chartered with maintaining these documents, including the FAQ. Please contact us via itsc@ieee.org.

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Q5. I forgot my IEEE Username and/or IEEE Password so I can update my IEEE Alias, please tell me what it is.

A. The IEEE Alias service now requires the use of an IEEE Web Account to register, update or delete an IEEE Alias.  You may obtain an IEEE Web Account at http://www.ieee.org/web/accounts/ .  If you have a Web Account, but forgot your PIN and/or password, there is a link on http://www.ieee.org/web/accounts/ below the registration area to recover your Username/Password.

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Q6. How can I have my IEEE alias forward to two e-mail addresses?

A. Currently the IEEE Alias service only supports one forwarding address for an alias. This is described in the IEEE E-mail Policy, located at http://eleccomm.ieee.org/email-policy.shtml , in section 3.1.8.

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Q7. Can I have two IEEE aliases?

A. The IEEE alias service only supports one IEEE Alias per member. This is described in the IEEE E-mail Policy, located at http://eleccomm.ieee.org/email-policy.shtml , in section 3.1.7.

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Q8. I just updated my IEEE alias information, but why is e-mail sent to my IEEE alias still going to the old forwarding address?

A. There are a couple of reasons that might explain why.

1. If you just registered for an IEEE alias or just updated your IEEE alias information, it will not take affect until the IEEE alias service updates the alias information. Currently, the alias information is updated twice a day at 6:00am and 6:00pm (EST).
   
   
2. Verify your IEEE alias and forwarding address information at https://eleccomm.ieee.org/aliases/update.html . Ensure that you have the proper forwarding address for your alias.

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Q9. How do I change my IEEE alias from auser@ieee.org to a.user@ieee.org?

A. To change your IEEE alias, you have to remove your existing alias, then re-register for a new alias. To remove you existing IEEE alias, please proceed to https://eleccomm.ieee.org/aliases/delete-alias.html . Then re-register for the new alias at https://eleccomm.ieee.org/aliases/register.html . IEEE aliases are on a first come first serve basis, so the alias that you may wish to change to may not be available. When you change your alias, the old one will remain active and the new one inactive, until the IEEE alias system updates it's information. The alias information is currently updated twice a day, 6:00 am and 6:00 pm (EST).

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Q10. I have an IEEE alias, but how can I send e-mail using my IEEE alias?

A. To utilize your IEEE alias to send mail as if it were coming from your IEEE alias, change your mail clients "from:" field e-mail address and/or the "reply to:" field to your IEEE alias. (refer to the help in your mail client to find these fields if you do not know where they are.) Some ISP's may not allow messages to leave their mail system if the address is not within their domain. The reason is that they may have Anti-spam prevention in place. In that case you can try to put your e-mail address back in the "From:" field and leave your IEEE alias in the "Reply to:" field. This will enable people that you end mail to be able to reply to your messages and the replies will go to the IEEE alias, where it will get scanned for E-mail attachment viruses before being forwarded to your IEEE alias forwarding address.

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Q11. How do I get access to my IEEE e-mail?

A. The IEEE E-mail alias service only forwards e-mail to an existing e-mail address that is provided by the member during the registration of the alias.

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Q12. Is there an e-mail web interface like hotmail so I can view my IEEE e-mail?

A. The IEEE e-mail alias service is an alias service only. E-mail sent to your IEEE e-mail address (alias) is forwarded to the e-mail address that was entered when registering for the service.

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Q13. I sent a test message to my IEEE alias and I never received it.

A. There are a few reasons that might explain why.

1. If you just registered for an IEEE alias or just updated your IEEE alias information, it will not take affect until the IEEE alias service updates the alias information. Currently, the alias information is updated twice a day at 6:00am and 6:00pm (EST).
   
   
2. Verify your IEEE alias and forwarding address information at https://eleccomm.ieee.org/aliases/update.html . Ensure that you have the proper forwarding address for your alias.
   
   
3. The message may be queued on the SMTP (mail server) that you used to send the message out. You may need to call your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to find out if they are currently experiencing e-mail problems

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Q14. I have sent a test message to my IEEE alias and it took a long time for it to be forwarded.

A. There may be several issues causing the delay. Most of the time it is network (Internet) connectivity between sites.

1. If network connectivity or Internet connectivity is down, communication cannot be established. If you sent a message to your IEEE alias and it has not arrived yet, it may be queued on the SMTP server that you used to send the message.
   
   
2. If someone sent you a message from a different site and the IEEE alias service received it, it will instantly forward the message unless the network (Internet) connectivity between the IEEE alias service and your forwarding site is down. In this situation, the IEEE alias service will keep trying to deliver the message every 7 minutes, for up to 3 days.

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Q15.Is there a message size limit for e-mail sent to my IEEE alias?

A. Currently, the IEEE does not have a message size limit established for the IEEE alias service.  However, since e-mail sent to an IEEE alias is forwarded to a forwarding e-mail address, there may be a  message size limit on the forwarding mail server.

Example:
A e-mail with a 2MB attachment is sent to the IEEE alias of user@ieee.org.  user@ieee.org forwards to user@isp.net . If  isp.net has a message size limit of 1MB.  When the IEEE alias system forwards the 2MB message to isp.net, it exceeds the 1MB restriction that they have established, so isp.net rejects the message.  The IEEE alias service will send the reject message back to the sender.

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Spam

Q1. Why am I receiving spam at my IEEE alias?

A. The spam message was sent directly to your IEEE alias.

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Q2. How did the sender of the spam message get my IEEE alias information?

A. Spammers harvest email address for PC email address books, web pages, an online directories, or they simply guess you email address using automated programs to generate combinations of letters and numbers. As a result even brand new accounts that have never been used are vulnerable to spam.

If you use your IEEE alias on any commercial site, you run the risk of that commercial site selling your information to other parties that may use that information to send spam. To reduce the risk, make sure that any site that asks your for information has a privacy policy that protects you and your information to ensure that it does not sell or give anyone your information without your permission.

The IEEE Privacy policy can be found at http://www.ieee.org/about/documentation/copyright/privacy.htm .

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Q3. I am receiving spam sent to my IEEE alias, can the IEEE block it? Can the IEEE form a list of addresses or sites and block them?

A. In November 2003 the IEEE introduced a new UCE/Spam filtering service to staff and members using the "ieee.org" domain. The UCE/Spam filtering service for the IEEE Member Email Alias Service provides a mechanism to manage the amount of Unsolicited Commercial Email (a.k.a. spam) sent to your IEEE Email Alias for so long as you retain your IEEE membership. This service is free of charge. Members interested in using this service must sign in for the service at:

https://uce.ieee.org

The UCE/Spam filtering service also includes black & white lists so that member can decide which email addresses to block or to allow.

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Policy

Q1. With regard to IEEE Mailing lists, what is IEEE business?

A. IEEE sponsored or co-sponsored activities are IEEE business, including all meetings, conferences, workshops, etc. Each electronic mailing list has some identified community of interest, which should be within IEEE's sphere of activities. In this context, communications relevant to that activity would be appropriate for the list.

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Q2. Are SAMIEEE extracts done by Organizational Units (OUs) (or staff on behalf of OUs) for meeting notices or newsletters or even conference announcements/call for papers considered lists created for a "specific purpose"?

A. IEEE operates to provide information, typically technical information, to individuals. While we should give individuals means to indicate the types of technical information they receive (TIP codes for example, but joining a society or attending a conference is another form of this), we can assume that they have opted-in for information relevant to these uses (but still provide a way to opt-out.)

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Q. When it is appropriate to include a member email addresses in a Mailing list without the member's consent?

A. If the mailing list is used for sent information to the member regarding a program, a subscription, etc. which the member belongs to, or has taken part in previously, it is IEEE business and governed by sections 5.2 and 5.12 of the email policy. However, if it this not the case then an opt-in mechanism is required

Any particular email message may be perfectly acceptable to one member and not another. It all depends on technical memberships, TIP codes, conference attendance or any other criteria that may be specific to the individual member relationship with IEEE

For example: If a member belongs to Society A and has never attended any conferences or ordered any publications from Society B, it is unacceptable for Society B to send communications to this member regarding Society B. In this case any communication sent to the member must be done on an opt-in basis.

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