DC Ranch Email Phase‐Out Guide  Table of Contents    Letter to residents

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Email Options

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Technical Support

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First Steps

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Technical Support Workshops

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Incentives

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Email Transition Timeline

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Email Resources

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How to Forward Your Email

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How to Set Up Auto Response

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Frequently Asked Questions

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July 31, 2012 Dear Resident: The Community Council board of directors and staff have made the decision to phase out the DC Ranch resident email service -- also known as dcranchnet.com or "RanchNet" -- beginning Aug. 1, 2012. The board and staff agreed that providing an outmoded email service that serves less than 10 percent of the community is not aligned with the Community Council's primary mission of building community. We deliver that mission through activities and events; operation of the two community centers; and dissemination of news and stories through the community's two primary communications vehicles, Ranch News and DCRanch.com. It is important that our work be focused in these areas. The Community Council understands that this news may be disappointing -- especially if you are among those neighbors who have had DC Ranch email accounts since moving into the community. Please know that we are committed to assisting you in making a seamless transition to a new, more functional platform. Your account will not be deactivated until you have established a new service or until the DC Ranch email system expires. The Community Council, in partnership with trusted consultants from MyITAssistant, will provide as much assistance and support that is necessary to ensure a smooth transition to a new email service provider, especially to those residents who solely rely on their DC Ranch email. The remainder of this letter outlines the support and resources in place to help you transition to a new email provider. The same information is available online at www.DCRanch.com/For_Residents. All residents with a DC Ranch email account will need to complete an online questionnaire which provides information to the communications team about how they would like to proceed with the transition process. We thank you in advance for your cooperation. Any questions can be directed to Kimberly Crowther Miller at 480.538.3545 or [email protected]. Yours in community, DC Ranch Community Council

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Email Options  The DC Ranch communications team and MyITAssistant are here to help you every step of the way in establishing a new email service. Here are your email options going forward: 1.

Give the communications team permission to deactivate DC Ranch email accounts that you are not using. Rely on an established email account, already used by you, and utilize MyITAssistant to transition away from the DC Ranch account. Establish a free email service like Yahoo, GMail, or Hotmail. Sign up for a subscription-based email service through MyITAssistant. Get a personalized domain and email account through GoDaddy.com, EmailPicker.com, or similar service.

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Technical Support  Residents can take advantage of free, comprehensive technical support services through Oct. 31, 2012, to help them fully transition to a new email service. Professionals from MyITAssistant will: •

Provide phone or email consultation, if needed, to help you identify the email solution that best meets your needs. Set-up of new email service on your behalf. Configure new email service to your desktop, laptop, iPad, smartphone, or other device. Migrate email files, saved email, and address books to new email platform. Offer on-site workshops to help answer any of your questions and provide in-personal technical assistance. The workshop schedule is listed at right.

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Remember: Your DC Ranch email account will not be deactivated until you have established a new email service or the DC Ranch email service expires on May 1, 2013. The termination of the DC Ranch email service does not affect the DC Ranch community website, DCRanch.com, the news and information resource for residents. First Steps  1. 2.

3. 4.

Consider which service you would like to use to establish your new email account. Complete the online form that will provide information to the DC Ranch communications team about how you would like to proceed with the email transition process. It is important that you complete this form because it will allow our team to provide the best level of customer service to you as possible. A confirmation that your online form was received will be emailed to you. Based on the information you provide, a member of the email transition team will contact you about next steps in the process.

     

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  Get your questions answered at technical support workshops   Technical support workshops will be offered for residents who may prefer to meet with an IT professional face-toface. Workshops will be held at Desert Camp Community Center. Dates and times for upcoming workshops are: Thursday, Aug. 2 | 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28 | 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28 | 8 to 10 a.m.

Friday, Aug. 17 | 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12 | 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9 | 6 to 8 p.m.

RSVP for the workshop you would like to attend by contacting Kimberly Crowther Miller at 480.538.3545 or [email protected].   Incentives  The Community Council will conduct three drawings for gift cards to DC Ranch-area restaurants of the winner's choice. Those individuals who have completely transitioned to a new email account and have allowed the Community Council to deactivate their DC Ranch email account will be entered into the drawings. The following are the dates and details of the drawings: Sept. 1: $100 gift cards-5 winners Oct. 1: $50 gift cards-10 winners Nov. 1: $25 gift cards-20 winners                        

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  Email Transition Timeline August 2012   Aug. 1 Email transition project begins Aug. 2 Technical support workshop at Desert Camp, 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 13 Second notification email sent to residents who have not completed the online form and initiated the email transition process Aug. 17 Technical support workshop at Desert Camp, 8 to 10 a.m. Aug. 28 Technical support workshop at Desert Camp, 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 31 First-round deactivation of email accounts belonging to residents who give consent to do so September 2012        Sept. 1 First incentive drawing: Five $100 gift cards Sept. 12 Technical support workshop at Desert Camp, 4 to 6 p.m. Sept. 17 Third notification email sent to residents who have not completed the online form and initiated the email transition process Sept. 28 Technical support workshop at Desert Camp, 8 to 10 a.m. Sept. 30 Second-round deactivation of email accounts belonging to residents who give consent to do so October 2012 Oct. 1 Second incentive drawing: 10 $50 gift cards Oct. 9 Technical support workshop at Desert Camp, 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 15 Fourth notification email sent to residents who have not completed the online form and initiated the email transition process Oct. 31 Free technical support incentive expires November 2012       Nov. 1 Third drawing: 20 $25 gift cards Nov. 30 Third-round deactivation of email accounts belonging to residents who give consent to do so December 2012 Dec. 30 Fourth-round deactivation of email accounts belonging to residents who give consent to do so January 2013         Jan. 7 Fifth and final notification email sent to residents who have not completed the online form and initiated the email transition process March 2013    March 30 Deactivate remaining email accounts belonging to residents who have not completed the online form and initiated the email transition process May 2013          May 1 Deactivation of all remaining email accounts

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Email Resources  YAHOO! (www.yahoo.com)  Direct Link to Sign-up Page: https://edit.yahoo.com/registration?.intl=us&.lang=enUS&.pd=ym_ver%253D0%2526c%253D%2526ivt%253D%2526sg%253D&new=1&.done=http%3A//mail.yahoo.com &.src=ym&.v=0&.u=aa3tqst80tj6k&partner=&.partner=&pkg=&stepid=&.p=&promo=&.last=

Gmail: (www.gmail.com)  Direct Link to Sign-up Page: https://accounts.google.com/SignUp?service=mail&continue=http%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F<mpl =default

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  Hotmail (www.hotmail.com)  Direct Link to Sign-up Page: https://login.live.com/login.srf?wa=wsignin1.0&rpsnv=11&ct=1343147579&rver=6.1.6206.0&wp=MBI&wreply=htt p:%2F%2Fmail.live.com%2Fdefault.aspx%3Frru%3Dinbox&lc=1033&id=64855&mkt=en-us&cbcxt=mai&snsc=1

  GoDaddy Email Plans (www.godaddy.com) Go to Direct Link: http://www.godaddy.com/email/email-hosting.aspx?ci=72973

   

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  EmailPicker Email Plans (www.emailpicker.com)  Go to Direct Link: http://securepaynet.emailpicker.com/ 

      MyITAssistant Subscription Email (www.dcranch.me)  Direct Link to Sign-up Page: http://www.dcranch.me/index.php/request-account?communityfield=dcranch.me

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How to Forward Your DC Ranch Email Address to your New Email Address  You can forward your DC Ranch email to the new email account while you are notifying your contacts of your new email address.  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Login to your DC Ranch email at http://mail.dcranchnet.com Click on ‘Options’ in the top right corner Select ‘Email Forwarding’ from the middle column of options Select the ‘Forward all new messages to the email address below’ option Enter our email address in the ‘Forward To’ field Click on ‘Save’ to enact email forwarding NOTE: Auto Response and Email Forwarding cannot be used at the same time

         

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  How to Set Up Auto Response  You can set up an 'Auto Response' message in your DC Ranch email account which will send an automatic reply message to anyone who sends you an email to your DC Ranch email address. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Login to your DC Ranch email at http://mail.dcranchnet.com Click on ‘Options’ in the top right corner Select ‘Auto Response’ from the middle column of options Select ‘Turn On Auto Response’ for the date range you wish to use Auto Response If desired, type text you wish contacts to see in the ‘Subject’ line of your Auto Response email Type in the message you wish to send to contacts about your new email address If you are continuing to check your DC Ranch email account, then you can select ‘YES’ in the ‘Save all incoming mail in my inbox’ option 8. If you do not wish to collect email in your DC Ranch inbox, select the ‘NO’ in the ‘Save all incoming mail in my inbox’ option – the email message will not be delivered 9. Select ‘Save’ to enact Auto Response options 10. NOTE: Auto Response and Email Forwarding cannot be used at the same time

 

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  Frequently Asked Questions  Why is my DC Ranch email going away? The board of directors and staff agreed that providing an email service is not aligned with the primary mission of the Community Council. Email is no longer considered a coveted amenity, like it was in the 1990s when DC Ranch was first marketed to homebuyers, and the cost and technical expertise required to optimally service an email program are beyond our reach. Because the Community Council sets high standards for itself and its delivery of services to residents, the Board and staff realized that the DC Ranch email service has fallen -- and continues to fall -- short of that standard. We feel that dollars allocated to the email service could be better directed toward other more impactful Community Council programs that appeal to a larger portion of the community. How much time do I have to transition to a new email service?   Residents are encouraged to begin the transition process as soon as possible. Free technical support will be available to residents until Oct. 31, 2012. After this date, the cost for any technical support needs will be at the resident's expense. If residents have any barriers to taking advantage of free technical support services by Oct. 31, they should contact Kimberly Crowther Miller at 480.538.3545 so accommodations can be made. In general, though, all resident email accounts should be ready to be fully deactivated by May 2013. How do I select a new email service provider? Many email services are available. Some are free and some have a fee. Some offer a few features, others offer a lot of features like calendars, address books, file storage, mobile syncing, and more. The service provider you choose is based on your needs. One email service might work great for personal use, but not be very compatible for business use. If you'd like to consult with an IT professional about your email options, please attend one of the Technical Support Workshops at Desert Camp Community Center. What if I am not able to take advantage of free technical support services by Oct. 31, 2012? Most technical support services can be accomplished over the phone or through email. What is most important is that you initiate the migration to a new email service by Oct. 31. The Community Council and MyITAssistant will do everything we can to reasonably accommodate residents throughout the email transition process. When completing the Online Questionnaire, be sure to indicate any conflicts you have with the free technical help deadline. Can I forward my DC Ranch email to my new email account?  Yes. You may want to forward your DC Ranch email to the new email account while you are notifying your contacts of your new email address. To forward your email address, follow these steps: Log in to your DC Ranch email account (http://mail.dcranchnet.com) and click on "options" in the top right corner. Select Email Forwarding from the middle column. Select "forward all email messages to the email address below" and then enter your new email address in the field provided. Click ‘save’ to enact the forwarding options.        

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  For how long can I forward my DC Ranch email to my new email account? You can forward your DC Ranch email to your new email account for as long as you need. But remember that all DC Ranch email accounts will be deactivated on May 1, 2013. Also, to be eligible for one of the three incentive drawings for gift cards to DC Ranch-area restaurants, your DC Ranch email account must be deactivated by Oct. 31, 2012. Is there a way to automatically notify my contacts of my new email address? Yes. You can set up an “Auto Response” message in your DC Ranch email account which will send an automatic reply message to anyone who sends you an email to your DC Ranch email address. To set up an automatic reply message follow these steps: Log in to your DC Ranch email account (http://mail.dcranchnet.com) and click on "options" in the top right corner. Select Auto Response from the middle column. Select the date range you wish to use Auto Response and type the Subject and Message for your auto reply. Click ‘save’ to enact the Auto Response options. For how long can I use the Auto Response feature? You can use the Auto Response feature of your DC Ranch email for as long as you need. But remember that all DC Ranch email accounts will be deactivated on May 1, 2013. Also, to be eligible for one of the three incentive drawings for gift cards to DC Ranch-area restaurants, your DC Ranch email account must be deactivated by Oct. 31, 2012.

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