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E211: British Literature to 1760 Email and the Internet Alfred J. Drake | 423 UH | TW 12:45-1:45 | ajdrake@ajdrake.com Email: Five years ago, a fair number of students didn't have email accounts or didn't really use them if they had them. But things are changing, and now almost everyone, except a few old-fashioned professors, has an email account and knows how to use it. Don't hesitate to use email--it is a remarkable new means of miscommunication. Here are a few notes: 1. Type E211 in the subject line of every email you send me--that way, your mail will be routed to a special folder in my inbox and I won't have to make a huge filter item that includes the name of everyone in the class. In fact, the subject line method is better because people sometimes send mail from different accounts than the ones they initially provide me. 2. if you have one of those free Hotmail type accounts, be aware that they allot you a limited amount of storage space. You need to delete old messages before your inbox fills up and they stop delivering your email. 3. Check your "Trash" folder before you delete mail. I have had students insist that they never received some document, only to hear later that they found it in their "Trash" folder. Sometimes important mail will get routed to the trash as if it were spam promising you incredible sexual vitality or a free vacation in Tierra del Fuego. 4. Learn to use Netscape "filters" or MS Outlook "rules." You can route mail with specified subject headers or mail from specified addresses to whatever folder you create for that kind of mail. For example, you could create a folder called "FF100" and send any mail that comes from "ajdrake@ajdrake.com" or to "FF100 participants" to the FF100 folder. That way, you are sure to notice important communications pertaining to the course. Just check the help files for the email program you use, and you will see how this can be done. The Internet: People complain that there's too much information out there. Still, you can get much satisfaction from the net. Use search engines like Google, type in the author's name or the name of a major text, and see what you can find. If you have a recent browser, just typing something in your address bar should bring up search results. Offsite materials are obviously not required reading, but you'll find good tips, diagrams, study guides, and so forth: these things can provide food for thought and valuable insights that can enhance your experience with our assigned texts. Remember that if you use the documents you find as source material, you should treat it like any other source material, giving credit where credit is due. On that issue, see the bottom section of my Advice page.
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