On Office Watch, there's an interesting letter from someone who shares email addresses with his wife. They have a "joint" email account shared across multiple computers which (I assume) they use to send and receive messages that are from and to both of them.
Good grief.
The way it actually works is that they configure Outlook to not delete emails from the server after download. This way, the other computer can download them (also into Outlook). What follows in the letter is a list of pseudo-problems, issues and kludgy workarounds.
- Where do Sent Items go?
- What if one needs to read the Sent Items of the other?
- How does one know if the other responded to a particular message?
- What happens if one forgets to download messages before the server deletes them?
The reason why I say "pseudo-problem" is because the letter writer mentions a series of problems with his setup, then proceeds to blame Outlook/Microsoft for at least one of them. But his problems wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the way he was using the software — they're wholly manufactured issues caused by trying to force a square peg into a round hole. Once you reject the method of solving the problem, the problems disappear.
Let's look at the attitude behind this approach.
Instead of looking at a software program, then building one's requirements using the software as a starting point, some people start by imagining a goal, then looking at the software and trying to force it to accomplish said goal. Not surprisingly, this approach requires "tribal knowledge" and constant vigilance to make sure it's working properly. I'm exhausted just reading about what is required to keep the reader's solution up and running; add resentment to that if I actually had to do it.
The most common causes I've found for this attitude are:
- Polluting a goal statement with a solution – a problem statement that assumes a specific implementation or has a particular series of steps in mind.
- Trying to follow a single path to a goal – asking for help on a specific step towards a goal, without realizing that the path itself is incorrect.
You'll notice that even though both causes are closely related (typically cause #2 follows from cause #1 thinking), the letter writer's issue more closely matches the second cause. Instead of asking "What's the best way to specify colors to my printer, which takes CMY values?", the questioner might ask "How do you make Excel use CMY colors instead of RGB colors?" Instead of asking "What's the best way to manipulate cell values in VBA?", this questioner might ask "How do I use a For loop to read and update cell values?"
Some more examples:
How To Percentrank by Specific Range Options (cause #2)
Online help for Excel VB Reference (cause #1)
(Primary) Key Column? (cause #2)
My response when I see questions like these are "What is your goal?" or "What are you trying to accomplish?" Only then can the proper approach be determined.
Thankfully, the article author properly admonishes the "multiple computer, single email account" setup, and offers a few alternatives to sharing email addresses. I'd like to offer a few more. You'll notice that none of them involve keeping this setup as-is.
Use Distribution Lists
A distribution list is an excellent solution to the original problem. Each person on the list receives all emails sent to the list. Sent items should be CC'd to the list, this provides visibility for the response, as well as a copy of the sent item for each member's record. The only "issues" are
- There are two copies of each message (one on each computer)
- Each recipient must remember to CC the distribution list to make sure the other member(s) see it.
But these, too, are pseudo-problems because they are common occurrences in business settings and are only real problems if you accept the premises of the original setup (which I reject).
Read Messages Online
A service like Gmail or Hotmail can solve the original problem (this was mentioned by the article author). An added benefit is that you can read your emails anywhere, instead of being tethered to a specific computer that downloads the messages. Note that this was mentioned as part of the "solution" by the letter writer, but only as a workaround.
Use a custom domain
A custom domain can serve several purposes. You can get more email storage space, plus additional (sometimes unlimited) email accounts and forwarding aliases. You also get the added benefit of having your own named domain, so you can be someone@myfamily.com, your spouse can be spouse@myfamily.com, and your "joint" email (ugh) can be family@myfamily.com. This would replace gmail.com, hotmail.com, and so on, to provide a customized experience for you and your recipients.
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