Last week Tufts began the two-month process of transferring upperclassmen into the Coral e-mail system from the Emerald server. Some students have expressed concern about the changeover and frustration at having to go to Eaton computer lab to get their new account passwords, but many students are reporting the process has gone smoothly.
Coral is part of the Tufts' Trumpeter e-mail system, and because it does not require any special software, students will be able to check their e-mail from any computer on the Internet. Freshmen, who started the year under the Trumpeter system, and seniors, who were given the option to stick with Emerald, were not required to make the switch.
Heather Diamond, a staff member who aided students with their accounts, said that the changeover has not been difficult, despite student concerns. "We didn't have any problems... everything's going smoothly," she said.
While the actual process of account set-up has reportedly been relatively painless, some students have cited problems in their attempts to use the accounts.
Sophomore Mariyana Radeva said that her account did not receive e-mails the first few days after it was set up. "I tried to send myself e-mails to test it but it didn't work," she said. "So I made it in such a way that every e-mail sent to my Tufts account is forwarded to my Yahoo! account. That's more convenient for me."
Sophomore Ben Hsu said that he did not encounter any problems using Trumpeter, but that he was frustrated with its slower speed and lack of a "sent mail" folder.
"I would like to keep track of what I sent to who, and I can't anymore," Hsu said.
Most students seem happy with the new system and the transition, however.
"I didn't have any problems with it, but I haven't used the one upperclassmen used so I can't really compare," freshman Burcu Bezci said. "I haven't experienced any inconvenience or frustration about it."
One sophomore said he is unhappy with only being able to use the IMAP application, which allows you to see your e-mail through the Trumpeter system. Instead of saving hard copies of e-mail on the user's computer, it saves them on a server where they can be accessed from anywhere.
With Emerald, students could use the POP3 system, which automatically downloads e-mails onto the user's system. E-mails are accessed and deleted more quickly under that system, however they cannot be accessed anywhere other than the local computer.
"The new system is much less convenient," he said.
Sophomore Amanda Rowley said that she was unhappy with the lack of an address book in the Trumpeter e-mail system. "I wish I had an address book, because it is a pain to type the e-mail address every time. But I guess it is safer that way, because just in case someone's computer gets a virus, it can't reach anyone without an address book," Rowley said.
Whether or not students have had a difficult time adjusting to Trumpeter, its more secure connection will come as a relief to those leery of Emerald's insecure connection.
