How do I set up my favorite mail program to work with the Math Dept. server?
Most mail programs should work with the Math department server, and set-up should just involve giving the program the information it needs about the account. To read your e-mail, you should set the server address to “math.columbia.edu”, and server type to “IMAP” (“POP will also work, but the IMAP server is more powerful and more reliable). You also need to choose the option to encrypt the connection (“SSL), some programs require you to specify the port (993 for IMAP/SSL), but this is normally set correctly automatically. To send out e-mail (i.e. to specify the “SMTP server”), you can only use the math department server from within the math building (because we currently have no other way of protecting the server from being used by spammers to send out mail). You can use the main university system to send out mail, see here. If you are getting your internet service at home from some ISP other than Columbia, they should also be providing an SMTP server that you can use.
