The Sailor Mail process ..... things you never knew

This page is dedicated to helping people understand what's happening when they receive an email saying a note they'd sent to someone onboard a submarine has been modified.

We understand your concern when you get an email back that says your email to the ship has been modified. I'll try to explain what's happening. While it might seem complicated as you read this, please don't be daunted - hopefully by the time you reach the end, you'll have a full appreciation for the limitations faced by members of the submarine force, and a better understanding of what we do to minimize some of the limitations in our system.

When you receive the note saying your email has been modified, the bottom line is that you've received an automated, courtesy copy, telling you changes have been made - and there's an attachment containing a file with the message exactly as it has been forwarded to the ship. Please take a minute to look at the attachment.  Many people who ask questions of this process have never taken the time to see what's being forwarded in that message.

When you receive the note, in most cases, there is absolutely no action required. Anyway..... back to the explanation of what's happening (and why).

At your home, you most likely access the internet using a 56K modem - or even better yet, you're connected to the internet via a cable modem.  In either case, you are VERY fortunate when  compared to the ship.  In the worst case (if you're using a 56K modem), you have that entire 56K of bandwidth all to yourself - for email, or browsing, or whatever you like to do on the internet.  That's a HUGE "pipe" when compared to what's available to the sub.  The sub has less than 3K and that small "pipe" has to support not only all of the email for every person onboard (inbound and outbound), but also any tactical information coming in via that path.

The bottom line is that with such a small "pipe" available with which to receive data (including email), we're forced to fight (and fight very hard) to ensure that we safeguard the data / information going down that "pipe" to ensure that not only everyone gets their email, but that the ships tactical traffic gets delivered. There's simply no room to spare.

So.... Here's what we do.....

1. We limit the size of all messages going to the ship to 15K. This usually isn't an issue, since the average email ranges in size from 2K - 5K. Unless someone gets VERY verbose, this limit is only rarely exceeded. A rough rule of thumb is that a reasonable sized paragraph is 1K - which means you're able to send approximately a 15 paragraph email. If the limit is exceeded, the message is rejected as being too large, and the sender is notified what that size limit is in the rejection notice. When the email is rejected, in addition to the rejection notice, the entire original email is sent back to the originator.

2. We are also forced to eliminate all attachments. While we'd love to be able to support sending graphics and any other attachments, there's simply no "room" for that  in the small pipe. As a result, we're unable to forward attachments, such as photo's, movies, documents, and the like, to the ship. You might think that regardless how small the "pipe" is, if the sub receives the data for a long enough period, even large files will eventually get onboard.  That's not correct in this case, since the submarine is also limited in the time it's able to stay at communications depth.  The end result is that even if large files (i.e. attachments) were permitted, the limited time available to download these files would preclude our ability to get them onboard.  As a result, if the system detects an attachment, the text of the email is sent but without the attachment, and a "flag" is set. I'll explain the "flag" below - but it's important, so please keep it in mind.

3. Some people attempt to forward email from some other person, to the person on the ship. When this happens, its common practice for the originators email system to precede each line with ">". This signifies that the data to the right is "forwarded" data, and not information originated from the sender. Consider what happens if the sailor sends you an email.... and if you simply reply to  that email.  In this case the sailors original email would still exist at the bottom of this "new" email, with his lines preceded with ">".  We don't want to take up precious bandwidth by simply sending back to the sailor the same stuff he sent you, so when an email gets forwarded to the sub, the process looks for all lines which begin with ">", and removes them. As those lines are removed, they're also counted, and a note is appended to what the sailor will receive, to indicate that "forwarded" lines have  been removed from the original copy. Since the sailor will not be receiving EXACTLY what was sent from the originator, the "flag" gets set - just as above.

4. This is the most common reason for people receiving those "modified" messages. Some mail systems forward the EXACT SAME INFORMATION in different formats. For example, if you send someone an email, unknown to most folks, is that many mail systems send the entire contents in text format, and then again in rich text format, and then again in HTML format - all in the same email. The impact is that the exact same information can get forwarded three times, each time in a different format - and all in the same email.  I think most would agree that only one instance is needed, so the system looks for these duplicate instances and forwards ONLY the first instance. If multiple instances were detected and any subsequent instances removed, this constitutes having modified the original email - and once again the "flag" gets set.

Prior to being processed to the ship, after all of the earlier "scanning" is complete, the system checks the status of the "flag". If the flag has been set, two things happen.....

a. the system appends a notice to the email being sent  to the ship, informing the recipient that the email has been modified from the way it was sent from the originator. The note indicates what caused the modifiction.

b. An automated email gets generated back to the sender, notifying them the email has been modified, and it provides a very brief explanation of why the message was generated. But more important, it attaches a copy of exactly what is being forwarded to the ship. That way, you as the originator, can take a look at what the recipient will receive, and decide if you need to take action to forward any critical information that might otherwise have been necessary to the recipient.

It's important to realize that (a) these "modified" messages are 100% automated, (b) that they're  provided as a courtesy, (c) it does NOT create an additional workload on the part of those processing the email ashore, and (d) that in no case does any of this affect the privacy of any email being forwarded to the sub.

So you ask what you need to do to correct all this, to ensure you don't get these notices?

Hopefully you'll realize from reading the above, that in 99.9% of the cases, there's no action required. This functionality is a component of the sailor mail system, being performed as a courtesy.. and there's nothing required on your part.

However, if you wish to ensure you don't get these in the future, there are a couple of simple things you can do to prevent it. If you're an AOL user, please read the special section on AOL further below.

a. If you're using a mail system that allows you to configure it to send email in different formats, all you need to do is select "plain text". This will ensure these duplicate instances don't get generated - and nothing will get stripped, letting your email go through exactly as you drafted it.  If you're using Microsoft Outlook for example, the process is to click <options> from the <tools> drop down menu. Once there, click <mail format>, and select "plain text" in the drop down box.

b. Another thing you can do is not send any attachments - remember they're stripped away anyway.

c. Another thing you can do is ensure that all lines sent to the ship do not start with a ">". The simplest thing is to avoid forwarding email from others.

Now - if you've understood all that, please bear with me for just a wee bit more. It's actually a "good" thing that you receive those "your email was modified" messages - and you might actually PREFER to continue receiving them. Here's why. When you send email, that email eventually winds up on a server located in Norfolk, Virginia, waiting to get placed on the satellite link for the last leg of it's trip to the submarine. It's not until the email is entered in that final link that the automated process described above takes place. While it would be possible to configure your system to avoid getting these automated message, you can also use them as an indication that your email is being processed for that last leg of the journey. If you elect to not receive them, you'll never know your email is making it any further than your local mail server. Some folks are bothered when they receive those automated messages, but once they understand that receipt of them indicates their email is getting transferred to the sub, they're not only willing to receive them, but would actually prefer they keep receiving them.

Cant open the attachment?  I often receive email from folks telling me they're unable to open the attachment, so they're unable to confirm what will be received by the sailor. Without exception (knock on wood), they're using Microsoft Outlook Express, and their mail system was configured to block access to attachments. Since most viruses do their damage through attachments, Microsoft decided that the easiest way to minimize the likelihood of damage was to set the default configuration so that it blocked access to attachments.  If you're unable to open the attachment (and assuming you're using Outlook Express), it's a simple process to regain access to the attachment:

            A. click "tools", then "options"
            B. from there, click the "security" tab
            On the tab you'll see a checkbox which either allows or blocks access to attachments. Select which option you'd prefer, then click "OK" to exit from the process.

Please keep in mind that by being able to view attachments, your system is a bit more vulnerable to the nasty elements out there, so you might want to switch it back after you've confirmed the contents of the attachment.

AOL users: AOL is unique in all the internet service providers (ISP's) in that they have their own unique way of packaging email. All other mail systems simply "deliver the mail", but AOL insists on attaching additional data onto each email sent via AOL.  I personally dislike the concept but that's the way AOL does it.  As a result, if you're an AOL user, despite any changes you try making in your system, you'll always receive the "modified" messages, because the automated process sees this "extra" stuff as an attachment and deletes it - making it a "standard" email.  I apologize to AOL users, but that's the way it is.

INCREDIMAIL users: Anyone out there who's using the "fancy" backgrounds (and pictures) provided by the incredimail process might want to think of discontinuing use of that service if you send a lot of email to a submarine. The reason is that incredimail adds an extra (blank) "section" at the top of all email. This guarantees that every email you send to someone onboard a submarine will be modified.  The sailormail software has been specifically modified to support incredimail users, but there may still be occasions where what gets transferred to the submarine isn't what you'd intended.

I've received several requests from users of Yahoo Email, asking how to configure their system so they're sending in plain text mode.  Here's the process, but please note that you don't have to make the change on our account.  Since all modifications are 100% automated, it's no inconvenience at this end if you do or do not send using plain text.

• log into your Yahoo email account
• click "Mail Options" in the upper right
• click "general preferences"
• roughly in the center of the page you'll see a section on "composing E-mails". Select the "plain text" option

I hope this hasn't totally confused everyone. I try to enlighten anyone who asks, and so far, everyone I've explained this to, has been able to understand what's going on - and the reason for the modifications. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know - and I'll address any concerns or questions you may have.

The thing to remember is that just because you receive a note announcing your email is getting modified doesn't mean it's not getting delivered. In fact your email IS being delivered - but with the contents slightly modified.

REJECTED Email:  As with any mail system, the Sailor Mail system receives a large number of email containing viruses, and we do our best to ensure these are not forwarded to the sailors. The system automatically rejects these email back to the originators, letting them know their system might be infected.  There's a problem here though ..... it's not unusual for the wrong person to get the notification - here's why.

When a virus attacks a computer, it's common for a virus to replicate itself by sending a copy of itself to everyone in the address book of the infected computer. When it creates these email though, it's common for the virus to attempt to hide the location of the infected computer by using some other address in the address book as the originator of those email.

As a result, when we get the email with the virus, the "reply-to" address might not accurately represent the address of the person with the infected computer. As a result, when we notify the originator of the blocked email, we might be sending to the person who was unfortunate to have their address used when the errant email were created - and there's no way for our automated system to know who's really originating those infected email.

So - if you receive a notice saying your email was rejected due to an errant file (possibly a virus), it's quite possible the virus really didn't originate from your computer. Although frustrating, there's little you can do about this - except to hope the person with the infected computer eventually gets it cleaned up.  You can take comfort knowing it's a small probability the virus will use your address the next time it sends a mass mailing - hopefully it'll use some other address - and not yours.

One final note..... Purely as a service to those who might have problems (and because it's convenient), I have a yahoo chat id of "johnbouma". If you have problems and see me online - feel free to shoot me a note and I might be able to help you "real-time". Although I "live" on the computer, I'm not online with Yahoo all that often, so you'll get a faster response if you contact me via email using the link at the bottom of this page.

Regards,
John Bouma
SUBLANT N6N
Berkut Systems
(757) 836-1071 - desk
(757) 578-7599 - corporate

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