DDD Letter #76

POP E-Mail Access Policy

Reformatted: January 26, 1998

Over the past few months, it has come to our attention that some users of POP (Post Office Protocol) e-mail clients (Netscape, Eudora, Pegasus, etc.) have configured these clients to check automatically for e-mail much too frequently. We have tracked some users who have configured their e-mail clients and checked their e-mail over 7,000 times in a 24-hour period. This kind of use is clearly excessive and is a gross waste of critical network and server resources.

Therefore, to ensure that acceptable response and availability of the service continues, we have had to institute a policy which restricts POP e-mail access to no more than 120 times per day per user, or once every 12 minutes, i.e., 5 times per hour. The policy will be enforced by automatically sending an e-mail message to those users who check POP e-mail more than this threshold. A copy of the current message is attached below.

If the user continues to abuse the service and does not comply in some period of time (about a week), the user will get another letter saying that access will be denied. The ACF2 resource rule for the POP server would then be changed (about a week later) to prevent access for that user to the POP server. No other VM access would be altered, just authority to use the POP server.

Instructions for properly configuring your e-mail client to comply with this policy should be available with the software. If you are unable to reconfigure your POP e-mail client, please call the UCC Help Desk at 486-HELP/4357 for assistance. Additional information about POP mail access at UConn is available at the web address http://vm.uconn.edu/~wwwpop.

A reduction in the frequency of access to the POP server to not more than once every 12 minutes per user will cut the POP server access count by almost 40,000 connections per day. The policy will reduce ACF2, TCP/IP, and POP server loads and preserve exceptional POP e-mail service for the entire University computing community.

Current message to users who exceed the POP e-mail access limits:

"Dear userid,

The records of the University Computer Center indicate that your Post Office Protocol (POP) e-mail client checked number of times on date for e-mail on UCONNVM.UCONN.EDU.

The current University policy allows POP e-mail clients (e.g., Pegasus, Eudora, Netscape, etc.) to check the mail server no more than 120 times per day. The reason for the policy limit is to ensure access for everyone and to preserve exceptional POP e-mail service to the entire University computing community.

If you continue to exceed the policy limit, you may have your access to the POP server on UCONNVM.UCONN.EDU revoked. Please change your POP client access option to something within the policy limit. You may also choose to configure your POP client to check mail only upon your request. Please check the set-up instructions or the help facility of your particular POP client to determine how to configure your access to meet this policy.

Your POP server access will not be revoked without warning. Revocation of access will happen only after repeated notices to comply with the policy have not been met."

Recommendations:

• For Pegasus users who have turned on the "check for new POP3 mail every n seconds" (720 seconds is 12 minutes), see if you have also turned on the "check whenever new mail folder is opened" option. If so, having both options on may result in the Pegasus client exceeding the limit even though you have configured the client to check less frequently than every 12 minutes.
• Depending on your world wide web browser, you may need to take into consideration that the POP mail client will check mail every time it is launched. This is known to be true for Netscape and may be true for other world wide web browsers. If this is true of your browser, you need to select a time interval greater than 12 minutes to come under the limit of 120 times per day.

Should you need assistance in changing your POP client option, contact the University Computer Center Help Desk at (860)486-4357. Additional information is available at http://vm.uconn.edu/~wwwpop.

As usual, this communication and other informational mailings to Deans, Directors, and Department Heads are viewable on the Computer Center Policies web page at the following address: http://vm.uconn.edu/~wwwucc/uccpols.html.