The old VAX-VMS operating system has been replaced by a system called UNIX, which now provides Earlham's web server and mail services. Despite the advantages, the ECWebmail program is experiencing some problems. Silver is aware of the problems that have been occurring with the implementation of ECWebmail. One of these is the ten minute time limit that is in place. After this time is up, the program logs the user off, even if they are in the middle of writing a message.
Silver stresses that ECWebmail is meant for quick messages.
If users wish to write for a long time then it would be advantageous to purchase a zip disk and get set up by Computing Services for Eudora, an alternative email program with no time limit. Hassassian may be in a minority of people who are not using ECWebmail regularly. The program is currently being revised to allow twenty minutes of time before being automatically logged off, and according to Silver this limit is needed for two reasons. One is the unnecessary burden on the system that is created when people forget to log off. The second concerns security.