Free Geek Email

There are three different interfaces that can be used to access your Free Geek email: POP3, IMAP, and Squirrelmail. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages.

Squirrelmail

Squirrelmail is probably the easiest way to access your email, since it involves only a web browser and can be used from any location.

Go to https://web.freegeek.org/mail and enter your username (whoyouis) or email address (whoyouis@freegeek.org) in the Name field and your email password in the Password field.

Client based email

Use the following settings to connect from an email client such as kmail, evolution or thunderbird. The server port is included below for clarity, but is usually automatically set when you choose the encryption type.

Receiving email

IMAP

IMAP allows you to access your email from anywhere and leave the email on a server, but requires a separate email program. Most email programs (even windows ones) can handle IMAP. The main disadvantage of IMAP (and webmail) is that the messages are inaccessible when you are offline. There are options to work around this, such as offlineimap or kmail's "disconnected imap" feature.

Settings

• Protocol - IMAP
• Server - mail.freegeek.org
• username - your entire Free Geek email address <whoyouis@freegeek.org>
• server port - 993
• Encryption - SSL
• Authentication - Clear Text

POP3

The "old traditional" email system. POP downloads the email to your machine, making it inaccessible from other locations unless you choose to leave a copy of the email on the server (which does not always work well with all clients).

• Protocol - POP3
• Server - mail.freegeek.org
• username - your entire Free Geek email address <whoyouis@freegeek.org>
• server port - 995
• Encryption - SSL
• Authentication - Clear Text

Sending mail

Inside the Free Geek network (plugged into the wired network)

NOTE: Wireless access, even when you're physically at Free Geek, is actually "outside" the network. So for wireless access, see the next section instead.

• Protocol - SMTP
• Server - mail.freegeek.org
• Server port - 25
• Encryption - none
• Authentication - none

Outside the Free Geek network (or on FG wireless)

Our SMTP server (mail.freegeek.org) will not normally send outgoing messages on behalf of people outside our network, to prevent people from sending spam through our network. (But see the instructions for laptops below).

Home Computer

Use the SMTP server provided by your ISP. So, for instance, if you use Whiz to Coho as an ISP, use the same SMTP server as you use for your Whiz to Coho email account. If you're a Comcast customer, use the same SMTP server you use for your comcast.net email. etc.

Laptop

If you have a laptop, most likely you take it lots of places, and use it on a number of networks (home, work, the coffee shop, Free Geek.) If so, using your ISP's SMTP server for sending may not be a good option, because it might not work at all those places.

You can actually use Free Geek's SMTP server from anywhere, but only within 30 minutes of "logging in" by checking your mail.

POP3: If you use POP3, just set your email program to check your email at least every 30 minutes.

IMAP: If you use IMAP, it's a little more complicated. IMAP only "logs in" (authenticates) when you first start your email program. So after you first check your mail, you have 30 minutes to send messages out. After that, you'll need to either go "Offline" and then "Online", or quit and restart your email program, in order to have 30 more minutes to send out messages. Got that? Whew!

NOTES:

You may receive a "greylisting" error message when sending to a freegeek address, even with your smtp server set to mail.freegeek.org. If this happens, just resend the message after 5 minutes have passed.

If you go to a coffee shop that blocks outgoing SMTP, you will not be able to send email. Period. Whether you try to use your regular ISP's SMTP server, mail.freegeek.org, or any other SMTP server. (So which coffee shops are these?)

Misc.

To change your password, talk to one of the ASSes (in person).

your address plus - mail addressed to "whoyouis+stuff@freegeek.org" will get delivered just the same as mail to "whoyouis@freegeek.org". You might use this feature to give different addresses to different sign-up services. Note: You must use a "+" sign. More information on this can be found at the Wikipedia article wikipedia:E-mail address#Plus (or Minus) addressing.