Dear WWW: Managing Communication through the World Wide Web

Abstract

In the four years since the authors first implemented a WWW infrastructure for the UC Davis campus, they have received an amazing amount of e-mail regarding general campus questions and concerns. This paper explores the challenges and ramifications of having a single point of contact for most of the institution's incoming e-mail questions and comments. In traditional paradigms, a public relations office or information office would be responsible for fielding queries from the general public. Information technology professionals are now being placed in the role of answering e-mail on a variety of non-IT topics including admissions, housing, academics, and research. The authors share some of their successes and failures as well as some strategies for coping.