1. Dial your Blacksburg.Net account long distance if you have your own computer and phone line.   Make sure that you use the proper area code if
                           you are outside the local calling area). There are   methods to compose off line and read mail off line to reduce the phone bill. (See the help pages
                           for your operating system and e-mail  program) This works well for domestic travel but may be too expensive for foreign travel.

                           2. If you travel extensively with your laptop, you may want to sign up for an 800 number account with one of the long distance providers
                          offering "personal" or  "private" 800 numbers and have the 800 number pointed at Blacksburg.Net modem pool rather than your home number.
                         These 800 number usuually offer connections far below calling card rates from the United States and Canada.

                          3. For domestic or foreign travel when you do not have your own computer with you, you will need Internet access, which is possible in many
                          professional meetings, Internet cafes and hotels around the world. Often convention centers will have public terminals set up so that you
                          can access the Internet. Once you have Internet access you can access your Blacksburg.Net mail account by configuring your email program
                           (Outlook Express, Eudora, Netscape mail, etc.) to use pop.blacksburg.net as the incoming (or pop) email server, and specify your username (or account)
                            and password as appropriate, if necessary .  Leave all the other setting  set to those   for the system or ISP you are using.

                          Try to connect and check your mail before you depart so that you know how it works. If you have checked "save password" make sure
                           you know your password before you travel.

Example 1: Eudora Pro

 Joe Brown  is in Italy for the semester on a faculty exchange program, and uses a local ISP called ret.net to connect to the Internet, although he uses his
Blacksburg.Net address as her primary e-mail account. Using Eudora Pro, Professor Brown brings up tools in the Options menu and enters the following:

Under Getting Started

     POP account:  brown@pop.blacksburg.net
     Real name:      Joe  Brown

Under Personal Information

     Return address: brown@blacksburg.net
Under Hosts

     SMTP:           ret.net

Example 2: Netscape Communicator

Mary Shelley is out of town at a conference on neogothic literature over the holidays, and has access to a computer running Netscape Communicator to check her mail. In Communicator
she selects Preferences in the Edit menu, then clicks Mail and Groups in the dialog box, changing the following:

Under Identity

     Your name:                 Mary Shelley
     Email address:             shelley@blacksburg.net
     Reply-to-address:          shelley@blacksburg.net
     Organization:              Dept. of English

Under Mail server

     Mail server user name:   shelley
     Incoming mail server:      pop.blacksburg.net

NOTE: Make sure the "Leave messages on server after retrieval" box is checked. This ensures that your messages will be available to you later.

After Professor Shelley is finished reading her mail, she retraces the above steps, deleting her information from the Preferences file before leaving the computer.

Again, the specifics of each settings file will vary depending on the mail software you use.
 

Return to Blacksburg.net Home Page

Questions or comments, please send mail to: webmaster@black sburg.net