R/V Knorr Shipboard Computing: Electronic Mail

Scientists joining the ship are provided with an account name and password allowing general use of the ship’s ethernet system and associated services, including electronic mail. Email transmissions are made via INMARSAT, and the associated costs are billed directly to the users. If the use of email is anticipated, a ship’s technician must be provided with information on how billing is to be handled (contact Larry Flick, lflick@whoi.edu or (508) 289-2450). Email traffic will be transmitted to and from the ship only for those account names which have associated billing information. However, any message less than 1 kbyte in length will always be sent from the ship, even if the user’s account has not been activated. Once an email account is activated, there is a size limitation of 10 kbytes per message. If the size limitation is a problem, an onboard technician can adjust this figure. No prior arrangements are needed.

Email address names are of the form “first initial last name@knorr.whoi.edu” (the address for Gomer Pyle would be: gpyle@knorr.whoi.edu).

The ship email system maintains a log of the number and length of each message sent or received by each user. The number of bytes transmitted and/or received forms the basis for apportioning costs. Experience to date indicates that INMARSAT email runs approximately $.10 per kilobyte, but this may vary with available INMARSAT equipment and the operational area. The SSSG technicians will attempt to ensure that individuals are informed when their usage appears abnormally high and may result in an unexpectedly high bill.