Issue date: 9/30/05 Section: Opinion

Ivan Flores - The Battalion

It is not at all uncommon to hear complaints about the Neo e-mail service. The interface is sluggish and difficult to use. Why can't the mail be forwarded to a Gmail account or AOL? Why do the passwords need to be changed, and why do they have these strange password requirements? Computing and Information Services (CIS) handles these issues. But the problems with Neo are not specific to CIS. They exhibit a more widespread problem that is rampant in the University. The problem is mismanagement.

The employees at CIS have enough difficulties as it is. They have limited human and financial resources. The state government and the University, on the other hand, have unlimited requests and demands. When CIS makes recommendations to the University or tries to present solutions, the school administration or the state government is able to completely ignore their requests and demand that things be done their way.

The new password change is a perfect example. Students have a hard time memorizing facts before tests. There is a finite amount of disk space in their heads. They also have to memorize countless passwords and usernames. In the past, students needed to know their Neo login, Open Access Lab information and WebCT login information. Now, there is the NetID, which is used for all of these things. But the problem wasn't solved. Students have to choose new passwords that have a precise amount of letters, numbers and capitalized letters. This seems like an unnecessary burden.

The issue with forwarding e-mails is pretty simple. Faculty and staff need a guaranteed method of communicating messages to students. If students gave the school an outside e-mail for official use, there would be no assurance that an e-mail arrived. If the quota is full in a Hotmail or Yahoo! account, the mail will not be delivered. Neo has a safeguard that allows Texas A&M President Robert M. Gates or faculty to send messages to students no matter how full their inboxes are.

The interface is one of the biggest complaints. It is not wonderfully user-friendly. It is slow and inconvenient. There is a new interface on the way, but it was not ready for release when the school year began. Students can use desktop interfaces like Microsoft Outlook with their Neo accounts. This is much faster and easier. This information is just not being disseminated. Furthermore, CIS has to keep up with thousands of accounts. When something like the hurricane comes up, the system is plagued with users trying to access the server. This is one such instance where resources are limited and demand is seemingly unbounded.

The task is arduous enough. But upper management tells CIS what needs to be done, whether it is feasible or not. This same phenomenon occurs with student organizations. The University makes policies that are in line with bureaucratic liability concerns but are completely out of touch with student's needs and desires. The only way to solve these problems would be to give the little man a louder voice.

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