TCM does not provide email accounts, just a simple forwarding service.
The University has outsourced the provision of email to Microsoft, and the easiest way of accessing it is probably via webmail. Whilst the University is transitioning from its own mailserver, Hermes, to this outsourced provider, it is hard to configure clients automatically. So instead I list some pages which guide one through the configuration of various Linux clients installed in TCM.
Thunderbird
This UIS has instructions for Thunderbird. One may also wish to add access to the University's LDAP email directory, see the LDAP for Thunderbird instructions.
Evolution
Evolution is one of the few Linux clients which speaks Microsoft's own email protocol, rather than relying on MS's rather poor support for IMAP. The UIS has instructions for Evolution.
alpine
This old text-mode email client can be made to work with Exchange
and MFA. The UIS used to recommend this client, but the switch to
ExOL changed it from recommended to unsupported overnight. We
believe that it can be used.
If you have an old Hermes alpine configuration, you will
first need to hide that:
mv ~/.pinerc ~/.pinerc-hermes
There are further detailed instructions on alpine and ExOL, and also some alpine notes from Purdue. You will need to use device authorisation, and if not using TCM's alpine, note that 2.24 is probably the minimum version of alpine which will work.
Note that for MFA to work, alpine needs to be able to launch a web-browser. In practice this means that a web browser should be running already, and it will not work over a text-only ssh link. (If alpine will not open URLs in a separate browser, MFA will not work. If sitting at the console of a TCM Linux machine, all should be well.)
More details on alpine in Cambridge.
TCM's forwarding service
will cease in the Summer of 2024 as the UIS withdraws its support for this service.
TCM's email lists
TCM also hosts various email lists, most of which can be seen in the home directory of the user `lists'. This includes "tcm-users", which lists everyone in the group, and an almost equal number of recent departures, and people who (presumably) wish they were in the group. Membership of these lists has always been viewable by all with accounts, and no-one has complained yet, which makes life simpler for all.
We can set up email lists @tcm which can then be controlled by any of you. They can be temporary (e.g. for organising an event), or more permanent (e.g. people interested in a discussion group). Evidence of these can be seen in the ~lists directory.
@cam Forwarding
Assuming that you have an @cam email address, the following is likely to apply:
- Email sent from outside of ExOL to your @cam address will be forwarded as specified by your Lookup entry under "@cam delivery address." In the absence of which, it is sent on to ExOL.
- Email sent from within ExOL to your @cam address will be forwarded as specified by any forwarding you have set up within ExOL. In the absence of which, it will be retained within ExOL if you have an ExOL account, however dormant, else it will follow the Lookup entry.
- Email sent from outside of ExOL to [email protected] will go directly to ExOL, and obey the forwarding (if any) there.
In summary, if you set up forwarding in lookup, you almost certainly wish to set up identical forwarding within ExOL, else email from ExOL and from outside of ExOL will end up in different places. This section is nothing to do with TCM; we have no influence over the University's email setup.