Information

Service Information

Backups

To ensure that the messages and information stored on FirstClass are secure in the (unlikely but possible) event of a system failure, the FirstClass servers have to be regularly backed up (i.e. all the data is copied to tape).

There will be periods when you cannot log in to the servers because of this. Backups are scheduled as far as possible to cause least inconvenience for most users. Down time for backups will be announced in the OU Service News conference - please check there for the latest information.

If planned maintenance is necessary, this will be carried out as far as possible during the general LTS network 'at risk' periods which are Tuesday 07.00 until 08.30 and Thursday from 00.00 to 08.30, so if you are unable to connect during one of these periods please try again later.

It is not possible to 'rescue' individual messages or conferences which have been inadvertently deleted or lost because of message expiry.

Message Expiry

All messages on FirstClass, whether private e-mail or conference messages, have an expiry date, after which they will be automatically deleted from the system.

Messages in your mailbox have a default life of 45 days (although you can change this for an individual message as explained in Private Mail). Any changes to the default period will be posted in the OU Service News conference.

The life of conference messages is decided by the conference controller of the conference; the conference controller can set messages to expire after a certain number of days or once the conference reaches a certain number of messages.

If you want to keep important mail or conference messages, you should save them to the hard disk of your own computer.

It is not possible to 'rescue' individual messages or conferences which have been inadvertently deleted or lost because of message expiry.

Time Limits

At the time of writing there is no restriction on how long you may stay connected to FirstClass. However, you may be logged out of the FirstClass server if you are inactive for a significant period of time. If in the future, the servers get so busy that users can't log in, there may be a limit set for how much time each user can spend connected to the server, in order to allow everyone some access.

Virus Checking

The FirstClass software provided with these instructions has been virus-checked. It is your responsibility to keep your own computer virus-free, by regularly checking it with anti-virus software. It is not possible to 'catch' a virus by reading a FirstClass message, but it is possible that files sent as file attachments may contain a virus. You should ensure that you virus-check any files (program files or formatted documents of any type) that you download, except plain text files. There is a Virus Support conference online (inside the LTS Helpdesk conference) where you can get help with the OU anti-virus software and virus problems.

Graphics in FirstClass

Some of the icons and graphics that you see when you connect to FirstClass and the forms you can use, are stored in a FirstClass 'settings file' on your computer. If there is a need to update your settings during the year (for example, if a course you are doing wants to supply some course-specific icons or forms), you will be directed to a message with a new settings file attached to it. To update your settings, double-click on the settings file attachment and select the Update option from the Updater window. From that point onwards, the new icons etc. will be part of your normal settings.

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