The Information Technology department maintains centrally an email distribution list on Microsoft Outlook called “Allpoints.” It is designed to reach all active MCC faculty and staff who have an MCC email address with a single sending.
The purpose of Allpoints email is to convey information of general interest to as much of the campus community as possible, in as short a timeframe as possible, ensuring that all recipients receive the same message.
The allpoints email is to be used for college business exclusively – for announcements, invitations, forms distribution, informational pieces, etc.; it is not to be used for personal gain. Notification of events in the community that may be of interest to the majority of the campus community may also be conveyed via Allpoints email.
Anyone who has a campus email address can send an Allpoints email. The address is ma-allpoints. After hitting “Send”, your message will reach peoples’ inboxes in seconds.
Allpoints can be sent from outside the MCC network. Sign onto your campus email account off-campus through Office 365 and you can send an Allpoints from there. Also, from Office 365 you can pick up an Allpoints email from home or elsewhere off campus, just as you can any other email.
Allpoints emails are the ideal vehicle when you want the recipients to retain the information long-term. Emails can be filed, sorted and searched, making it easy for the recipient to retrieve the message at will. Also, Allpoint emails should be used when there is a lot of information to convey. Nothing is more frustrating than having to play a voicemail over and over to capture the who, what, where, when and how of an event.
Allpoints are an internal communication to faculty and staff and NOT intended to be a ‘press release’ to the public. Releasing any information presented via Allpoints to any external source without involving public relations or marketing is a violation of the college’s media policy.
Tips:
- Start the subject line of any Allpoints email that you send with the indicator “{allpts}.” This will signal to readers that it is a message intended for all faculty and staff and, after filing, will make it easier to retrieve.
- You can also send an Allpoints email via your campus Office 365 by typing in “allpoints@mcc.commnet.edu in the “To:” line.
- Be strategic about using Allpoints and ask yourself if the message is truly intended for all faculty and staff. There are a number of specialized distribution lists also maintained by IT that may be a better audience for a particular message, i.e. FT Faculty, CCPs. Overuse of Allpoints can result in reader fatigue, and lessen the impact of important messages.
- Think twice before hitting “Reply All” on an Allpoints. Pay particular attention when replying from a mobile device, as many default to Reply All.
- In order to prevent the accidental use of ‘Reply All’ to Allpoints emails (or any group list), please consider adopting the following procedure:
- Put the group you are emailing in the Bcc line
- Put any co-senders in the Cc line (for example, if you and another staff member are co-sponsoring an event)
- Be thoughtful about sending attachments via Allpoints, particularly if their ultimate home is on the MCC website. It is better to have the document published first to the web, and then include the link in the Allpoints. This insures that the document resides in only one place, and that the most current version is always available.
- One of the great things about Microsoft Outlook and its email system is that you can drag and drop Allpoints emails (or any email) onto your calendar, your task list or to a special folder.
- If you will be off campus for an extended period of time (i.e. maternity leave or sabbatical) and you choose not to receive Allpoints emails, you can have the service temporarily suspended by notifying the Help Desk at https://cscu.edusupportcenter.com/ or call 860-723-0221.
. Just remember to have yourself re-added to the distribution list when you return. - One way to keep your Allpoints emails organized is to create a special folder for them. Right click on “Personal Folders” on the Folder List in Outlook. Then select “New Folder” and select a name (may we suggest “Allpoints”?). You can then simply drag any Allpoints messages to the folder for safekeeping.