Unclutter Your E-Mail

[Randy Potter]

Another way to "Unclutter Your E-Mail", my preferred method, is to use a
stand-alone email program. I use Claris Em@iler, which cost $49.95 from
MacWarehouse. (800-255-6227) They also produce a DOS version for those
other kind of computers.

Em@iler allows me (or you) to set up Mail Actions, by which I can
prioritize incoming messages using several dozen different criteria. For
example, I want anyone asking about our course to stand out, so I set it
up so if the Subject section contains certain key words, such as school,
course, tuning, etc., it makes them Priority 1 - and they are both
color-coded and at the top of the list. I set another priority so that
any post coming directly from out web page catalog's hot button is also
Priority 1.

Another code puts students asking technical questions in Priority 2, so I
can see their messages without having to shift through all the ptg-l and
pianotech doo-dah.

I prioritized several personal friends (most are piano technicians), so
their messages are Priority 3. All messages sent from the ctuner list get
a separate priority number, as do the ptg-l and pianotech lists.

And each is a separate color on the screen, which makes them easier to
pick out.

By clicking on-screen symbols I can quickly change the order, either
seeing messages prioritized by date and then priority order, or I can
click another place and it will put all the priority 1s at the top, in
order of date, then the 2s, then 3s, and so on.

Further, it allows me to set up as many service providers as I want.
For example, I still have an AOL account, but will not tell you the
number because I do not want mail to come in there on purpose - because
AOL only has a 2400 baud line into our little berg, and the snail looks
like a racer compared to how fast that service downloads messages.
I get most of my mail through our Bendnet account, which is 28.8K
service, and is lightning fast. So, after opening that up, and
downloading my messages, I have the program set to call up AOL using a
TCP link (I have no idea what that is, so ask someone else if you need to
know), and download whatever found its way into the AOL account at 28.8K,
instead of the local 2400 baud slow boat to China.
(It also allows me to have AOL Light, which only costs $4.95 a month, so
I get the benefits of having an AOL account - and I am not sure what
those benefits are, though, lately - but do not have to pay a lot of
money or put up with their slower than molasses speed.)

I learned about this from Webmaster Esquire Dean Reyburn, and while I did
not especially want to spend 50 bucks for an email program when I already
had three that were "free", I also realized as soon as he described what
Em@iler would do that with the three "freebies" I had from the different
services, I was getting exactly what I had paid for - not much!

Randy Potter, R.P.T.



Randy Potter, R.P.T.
Randy Potter School of Piano Technology
"Training Competent Piano Technicians Into the 21st Century"
Celebrating 10 Years, with students & graduates in over 55 countries!
See our web page at www.tuningschool.com
We are accepting registrations for our 1997 Hands-on Training Seminar
July 6-13, 1997 @ Northwestern College in St. Paul, MN.