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| THE WEB STANDARDS GROUP RECOMMENDS that, whenever possible, you do not use personal email addresses on your Web site (this recommendation does not apply to directory listings). Instead, use non-personal, role-based email aliases. An example of a non-personal, role-based email alias would be "webmaster@department.ucsb.edu" or "gradadvisor@department.ucsb.edu." |
| An email alias is not a real email account; instead, it is an address that forwards all email it receives to another email account. For example, a role-based email alias such as "accounting@department.ucsb.edu" might forward (or "map") to "johnsmith@department.ucsb.edu," a member of the department's accounting office. If John Smith leaves his position, or if someone else takes on the responsibility of answering accounting enquiries, that alias can be remapped to a new email account. |
| Aliases are useful in several ways, including: |
- To protect an individual department member's email address from being vulnerable to spam or other unwanted email;
- To route general enquiries to one contact person in the department;
- To help keep a Web site updated. For example, if John Smith leaves his position, the alias "accounting@department.ucsb.edu" can be remapped to John Smith's replacement; the email alias address iteself will not have to be changed anywhere on the Web site.
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An alias may also map to multiple email accounts, which can be useful for small email groups, or to direct enquiries to several key members of a department.
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| Make sure to review Key Points on Use of E-mail at UCOP, a section of the University of California Electronic Communications Policy. |
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