The situation isn't any better in the private sector, said Steven Senz, director of operations for GTE Corp., which recently demonstrated its e-mail response system at the Federal Webmasters Forum. Few agencies, however, see a flood of e-mail via their Web sites. A Treasury Department spokeswoman said the Office of Public Correspondence receives roughly seven e-mail messages a week. Agencies said they use several methods to direct questions to the right person. Many agencies, such as Treasury, treat e-mail as they do other correspondence.
Agencies often try to delineate between technical and policy questions.
The White House provides an online form for citizens to e-mail President Clinton or Vice President Gore. The webmasters note, however, that the systems staff only reads questions about technical aspects of the site. The Education Department's home page provides an e-mail link for general inquiries or comments, but the department also provides a link for feedback on the Web site itself. Some agencies direct e-mail queries to specific offices. The Housing and Urban Development Department and the Veterans Affairs Department list categories for routing e-mail to offices within in the departments.