Help: FAQs

If you encounter issues with Geckomail that these help pages do not resolve, please contact the IT Express Computing Help Desk at 754-HELP (4357) or ithelp@ucdavis.edu.

Q: I can log in to Geckomail, but when I try to do anything, I get kicked back out to the login page. What's wrong?
A: This usually indicates a problem with cookies. A cookie is a small piece of information that a server and browser will send back and forth. Geckomail uses cookies for authentication, and hence, cookies are required. To allow cookies:

• In Netscape, go to Edit--->Preferences --> Advanced
• In Internet Explorer version 3 (up to version 5), go to View ---> Options ---> Advanced.
• In Internet Explorer version 5 or higher, go to Tools ---> Internet Options ---> Security ---> Custom Level, then scroll to the cookie options.
  

Q: Why does it keep on telling me that the lookup of my pop host failed?
A: You have probably entered an incorrect loginid. Make sure you're using your loginid, and not your mailid.

Q: It keeps on telling me I've probably entered an incorrect password. What should I do?
A: First, remember that your password must contain one uppercase character, one lowercase character, one alphanumeric character, one number, and be 7 or 8 characters in length. If you have all that, and you can't log in, then you should contact IT Express and ask them to assist you with a password change.

Q: How do I get help with Geckomail?
A: Write to IT Help (ithelp@ucdavis.edu) if you encounter problems. They can answer most questions, and those they can't answer will be forwarded to the developer.

Q: How do I sort messages by date/subject/size/from?
A: There are small images in the headers of each column. In the column by which you're currently sorting, there will be a triangle, either pointing up or down, depending on ascending or descending sorting. In the other columns, there will be a diamond. Click on any of these images to change the sorting order. The default is to sort by date.

Q: Sorting by date doesn't actually appear to be sorting by date. What's wrong?
A: Sorting by date actually displays messages in the date received, not by the date with which the message was "timestamped". That means that new messages will always be at the top of your list, which I find far more useful (occasionally, messages will be improperly timestamped). Reverse date sorting works in the same manner.

Q: What's the deal with the mailbox base directory?
A: The mailbox base directory (modified from the 'configuration' page) tells the program where to look for your mailboxes. Some programs, such as pine, put mail folders in a directory named 'mail'. Programs such as mutt put mail in 'Mail'. All actions you take on mailboxes are relative to this base directory.

Q: How does mail folder creation/deletion work?
A: Both are relative to your base mail directory. So if you wanted to create a folder named 'foo', you would just enter 'foo'. If you want to create a new directory named 'foo', enter 'foo/'. You could also create a new directory and a folder underneath it as well. Just enter something like 'foo/test_folder', and the directory and folder will both be created at once. To delete the folder named test_folder, enter 'foo/test_folder' and select the appropriate action.

Q: How does the authentication work?
A: Initial authentication takes place via IMAP. The IMAP protocol takes your LoginID and password and attempts to authenticate you. You should use the same password/LoginID pair that you use with other mail programs, such as Eudora. You could also log in by entering something of the form of loginid@fully.qualified.hostname, along with the password for your loginid at the hostname you supply. This will bypass MailID detection completely

Q: My friends recognize me by my nickname. How do I change the name sent with my outgoing mail?
A: The alias sent with your outgoing mail will default to your official name in the Computing Accounts Database. This name will be sent with all outgoing mail and used when displaying messages in users' mailboxes. You can edit the alias through the 'Configure' menu.