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eMail Services - quick reference

Xenoplanet provides eight different eMail options which satisfy a wide range of needs. You may add, change, and delete eMail options by using Xenoplanet's eMail management system, available from Xenoplanet's customer Control Panel.

• eMail account
• eMail alias
• Global eMail alias
• Autoresponder
• Multiple eMail alias
• eMail-to-Fax gateway
• eMail-to-CGI gateway
• Mailing list

eMail account

An eMail account is the most common eMail option. eMail sent to an address such as yourchoice@yourdomain.com is stored at Xenoplanet until it is checked using an eMail program such as Eudora Pro, Netscape Mail, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or any of the hundreds of other POP3-compliant eMail programs.

Use this option if you are interested in keeping your Xenoplanet mail account separate from other eMail addresses you have (i.e. to separate your personal eMail from your work eMail), or if you wish to receive eMail and do not currently have an eMail account at home or work.

Xenoplanet provides step-by-step instructions on how to configure your current eMail software to check eMail from your Xenoplanet eMail accounts.

Many users choose to create more than one eMail account on an existing domain. For example, you may wish to create eMail accounts for each of your employees, of the form ann@yourdomain.com, bob@yourdomain.com, etc. Each eMail account has its own mailbox, with its own username and password, so that Ann (in the above example) can not read Bob's eMail, and vice versa.

eMail alias

An eMail alias is also known as an eMail forward. eMail which arrives to an alias such as yourchoice@yourdomain.com is instantly forwarded to a destination of your choice. This destination can be any valid eMail address, whether it be an account at Xenoplanet, an account at your ISP, etc. The sender will not know that the eMail is being forwarded. For example:

someone@yourdomain.com -> youremail@yourisp.com
another@yourdomain.com -> youremail@yourdomain.com

This option is often used to create several eMail address which ultimately forward to the same destination. A company might use eMail aliases such as sales@yourdomain.com, support@yourdomain.com, and info@yourdomain.com, all of which would forward to the appropriate employee's eMail account.

Global eMail alias

A global eMail alias, or "star" eMail forward, is the "catch all" of eMail options. It forwards all eMail addressed to your domain (i.e. ***@yourdomain.com) to a single eMail account, whether it be an eMail account at Xenoplanet, or your dial-up eMail account.

Normally, if someone sends eMail to an eMail address which doesn't exist (perhaps due to a misspelling), the message is returned to the sender with a "User Unknown" error message. A global eMail alias allows you to receive such eMail, even if the "to" address does not exist at your domain.

You can use a global eMail alias in conjunction with other Xenoplanet eMail options. In this case, all other eMail options take precedence, such that the global eMail alias in used only when necessary.

Advanced users can use a global eMail alias, in conjunction with 3rd-party software, to collect all mail addressed to a given domain, and then redistribute it to several employees on an Local Area Network.

Autoresponder

Autoresponders send a preformatted reply when mail is sent to a certain address and are included with all Xenoplanet web hosting accounts. Autoresponders are email addresses which automatically reply to messages with a "canned reply" or greeting. For example, you might want the address info@yourdomain.com to automatically reply with a preformatted message with prices, information, or a "thank you" note.

How To: You can create, modify and deleted autoresponders in your Account Control Panel under "Manage Email Accounts".

Sample: Send a blank email to maildaemon@xenoplanet.com for a demonstration: you should receive an automatic reply within seconds.

Multiple eMail alias

The multiple eMail alias is an eMail alias which forwards mail to small groups of up to 5 people, i.e.:

sales@yourdomain.com

-> user1@yourdomain.com -> user2@yourdomain.com -> user1@yourisp.com -> user1@anotherisp.com -> user2@anotherisp.com

All mail sent to the multiple eMail alias is forwarded to all recipients.

eMail-to-fax gateway

Xenoplanet's eMail-to-fax gateway allows users to receive eMail via their fax machine. This option is commonly used to distribute orders to a fulfillment center, notify sales representatives of an information request, or for businesses which desire a web and eMail presence without the commitment of regularly checking eMail. For example:

yourchoice@yourdomain.com -> (858) 560-9417

The eMail-to-fax gateway can be used in conjunction with Xenoplanet's form and order processing scripts, as well as custom CGI scripts which you install. Toll charges may apply.

eMail-to-CGI gateway

This advanced option allows users to forward incoming eMail to a Perl script, enabling you to completely customize and/or automate the processing of incoming eMail. eMail which arrives to a particular address will be sent to a Perl script using the POST method. The option is only available to CGI-enabled accounts. For example:

yourchoice@yourdomain.com -> http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/parse_eMail.pl

The eMail-to-CGI gateway is commonly used to create custom autoresponders, to create eMail tracking systems, or in any other situation in which a custom action must be taken when eMail is received.

Mailing list

Xenoplanet uses Majordomo 1.94.5 to offer a full-featured virtual mailing list system. Majordomo is one of the most popular mailing list systems, and has the capability of handling hundreds of thousands of messages per month. Xenoplanet's mailing list system allows broad customization of most of Majordomo's features including various subscription and unsubscription policies, custom message headers and footers, various notification options, garbage message detection, maximum message length, etc.

Customizable features include:

• Administrative password
• eMail address of mailing list owner
• Subscribe policy (auto, open, open+confirm, closed, closed+confirm)
• Unsubscribe policy (auto, open, closed)
• Garbage message detection (yes, no)
• Notification of new subscribers (yes, no)
• Maximum message length
• Moderated list (yes, no)
• eMail address of moderator
• Moderator password
• Message header/footer
• New subscriber welcome message



Mailing lists can be optionally public or private, moderated or unmoderated. Digest support is not available. Mailing lists are billed $6.00 per block of 50,000 messages (or fraction thereof).

read more on the mailing list quick reference