Duke electronic mail post office: A practical mail linking system
The Duke Electronic Mail Post Office project (DEMPO), a system designed to integrate the many different electronic mail systems in use throughout Duke University, is described. DEMPO is part of Duke University Medical Center's model for achieving an integrated academic information management system (IAIMS). Main features of the system, problems encountered during implementation, and future directions are discussed. The system has been designed to maximize flexibility and simplicity by using the existing mail systems of each computer without requiring any modifications, additional programs, or additional hardware. The DEMPO system incorporates all mail systems, invisibly taking care of conversions between the systems, while preserving a majority of features each system offers its users, including the ability to send, read, reply, forward, send to multiple addresses, and request receipts for mail delivery. The DEMPO system also offers mail forwarding. A user receiving mail at multiple places may request that DEMPO routinely collect all mail from these places and forward it all to one location.
