Messages

The system includes a simple messaging system that enables messages to be sent to other users and user-groups. You can reply to and forward messages. When initially received, the message is flagged as pending. After it's read by the addressee it is flagged as read.  When a message is finished with, you can either delete it completely or flag it as complete.

There are two types of messages, user and system. System messages are those used by scheduled processes to notify of status updates or errors. (Currently only the ESCI system generates system messages.)

Note that the messaging system is very simple. Specifically:

• messages have only To addressees and no CC and BCC addressees
• a message to a user group generates copies to each individual user
• a user looking at a message sent to a group cannot see that it was in fact sent to the group rather than him/herself (unless of course the sender puts in the text "To all Reception staff" or similar)
• messages are not private, that is a message to one user can be read (and responded to or deleted) by another
• there is no 'sent tray', ie you cannot see the list of messages that you have sent, only those that you have received.  But since you can look at the messages sent to anyone, you see those that you sent.
• the message status only changes from pending to read when it is read by the addressee. The status stays as pending if it read by anyone else.
• quick 'subject only' messages with no next are allowed

Global ToDo list: Because messages are not private, you can set up a global todo list.  The administrator creates a user called ToDo (with a password known only to the administrator so that nobody can login as ToDo). Messages sent to ToDo can be seen by everyone, and individuals can respond to and delete these messages. Thus we have a public todo notice board. You could also create a Work List for this 'todo' function but there is the benefit of being able to easily reply to or forward the messages.

Administrators note: since Message Delete is a specific 'authority' it is possible to block the deletion of message by specific users if you want them to only be able to set complete status when a message is finished with, rather than deleting it.