gBear Frequently Asked Questions

gBear Account

What is gBear?

gBear is the collection of Google Apps provided by Barnard College to its faculty, staff, and students.

Which Google Apps will we have in gBear?

Your gBear account includes Google Apps for Education Mail, Calendar, and Groups.

How do I log into my gBear account?

Once you have been migrated to gBear, visit gbear.barnard.edu. There you can log in to your gBear account. The login information for gBear is the same as the one you have been using for your Barnard Webmail and eBear. For students, your gBear login is your existing UNI and your eBear password. For faculty and staff, your gBear login is usually your first initial followed by the first seven characters of your last name, and your eBear password.

If I had set up mail forwarding from my Barnard email account to another email account before migrating, will I have to set it up for my gBear account after I migrate?

The Barnard email account stops receiving email as soon as you migrate. Nothing will be forwarded from that account after the migration. If you wish to continue forwarding Barnard email to another account, you will have to set up forwarding in your gBear account. See Google Mail Support for instructions on how to do this. Note that everything forwarded to your Barnard email account will show up in your gBear mail account.

What happens to email stored locally (on my computer)?

Only email on Barnard’s mail servers are migrated to gBear overnight. If you have local email folders stored on your PC and are interested in moving local email to gBear --
 

• Students: contact Student Computing at studentcomputing@barnard.edu
• Faculty & Staff: contact the BCIT Service Desk at help@barnard.edu

What will happen with my old Webmail account?

Once you migrate to gBear, no new email messages will show up in your old Webmail account. You may still access your old Webmail account, but it will only contain the email messages that were in your account prior to you migrating to gBear. All new email messages will show up in your gBear account. You will also be able to see your old messages in your gBear Mail account.

Is Google Talk (Chat) enabled in gBear accounts?

All gBear accounts come with Chat enabled. Since people have different preferences regarding its use, you should check out the settings for Chat. Go to the "Settings" link at the top of your gBear Mail page, and then select "Chat."

Will I be able to set up my gBear account so I can access it using an email client?

Yes, you can set up your email client using IMAP. The list of supported email clients is found here.

Will I be able to sync gBear Apps with my mobile device?

Google Apps currently works on BlackBerry, iPhone, Symbian S60, Windows Mobile, and some Android devices. BCIT provides support for the Blackberry and iPhone at this time. For more information on how to set up your mobile device, see "Mobile Devices" on the gBear mail page. 

What is the difference between gBear Mail and Gmail or gBear Calendar and Google Calendar?

gBear accounts are issued by Barnard College, not created by individual users as is the case for both Gmail and Google Calendar. gBear accounts are governed by the same policies that Barnard has regarding electronic communication for any accounts issued by the College, including Webmail and eBear.

If I’m having trouble with my gBear account, where can I find assistance?

For information on gBear account assistance, please review the following pages:

• for gBear mail
• for gBear calendar
• for gBear contacts

If you have additional questions,

• Students: contact Student Computing at studentcomputing@barnard.edu
• Faculty and staff: contact the BCIT Service Desk at help@barnard.edu

gBear Mail

Will my email address change?

No, your e-mail address remains the same. For students, your address is UNI@barnard.edu. For faculty and staff, your address is usually your first initial followed by the first seven characters of your last name @barnard.edu.

Will my folders, contacts, and saved emails in Webmail be migrated?

If you are using Outlook, your folders will be migrated automatically as labels to gBear. Your contacts will not be migrated automatically, but can be migrated if requested. All the existing e-mail messages in your previous Barnard email account will also be migrated automatically. Note that only email from Barnard servers will be migrated. If you have saved email messages locally on your PC or MAC (i.e. because your email account is configured to retrieve messages via POP), they will not be migrated automatically.

Can I consolidate my personal email and gBear accounts?

Google provides information about consolidating your personal and school email accounts. Your Barnard email account is still the official method of communication between the College and faculty, staff, and students. As such, the account is governed by the same policies that Barnard has regarding electronic communication for any accounts issued by the College and is the one supported by BCIT.

How much space do I have to store my emails? What if I run out of space?

Your gBear account has 7GB of storage, which is significantly more space than you had in your Barnard Webmail account. You'll probably never run out of space. In fact, a heavy email user who sends and receives lots of file attachments and archives all messages might use up to 5% of this space a year (usually less), so it could take years to use up all of the available space. Note that Google Apps restricts the size of file attachments to 20 MB, so you don't have to worry about a few large files using up your storage space.

Does Google place ads in the mail?

Advertisements and sponsored listings are turned off for current faculty, staff, and student gBear accounts.

Will Google search our email for marketing purposes?

No. The educational agreement between Barnard and Google prohibits that activity.

What if I already have a personal Google/Gmail account?

Your personal Google/Gmail account will remain separate from your gBear account. gBear is provided for Barnard's community and caters to specific educational needs. You may choose to forward your gBear Mail to your personal account if you would like to combine both accounts, or vice versa.

Can I share a Google Doc from my personal Gmail account with my gBear account?

No. gBear does not provide the Google Docs feature currently, so any shared documents to your gBear account cannot be read.

Can I recover an email I accidentally deleted?

When you delete an email message or conversation, it is moved to your Trash folder and automatically deleted after 30 days. If items in the Trash remain for 30 days or are emptied, those items cannot be recovered. Google has more information on deleting & recovering messages.

How do I undo sending a message?

You must enable the lab feature, "Undo Send," in the Labs page under Settings. Once you've turned on this lab, you will see an “Undo” link on every sent e-mail confirmation. The undo link can be clicked for five seconds after you have clicked the send button. After clicking the link, the message will not send and the page will refresh back to compose. To avoid having to retract a sent message, we recommend always writing your body message first before entering the recipient's name(s).

Can I sort emails in other ways than by date?

There is no way to sort your mail other than by date. By default, the newest message appears on the top of your Inbox. gBear emphasizes its search feature, similar to Google search, to help you look for messages in any part of the e-mail body. Advanced search options help you find messages quickly. Additionally, you can use labels and filters to sort your mail as well as setting up a Priority Inbox.

How are messages filtered in gBear?

Using filters, you can manage the flow of incoming messages, including automatically label, archive, delete, star, or forward your mail, and keep certain messages out of the Spam folder.

Google automatically filters spam that you don't see in your gBear account. Messages that are flagged as spam are directed to the "Spam" folder in your account. You can view those messages and clear them or have Google clear them automatically after 30 days. See the following pages for more information:

• For Filters
• For Spam

How do I get rid of spam?

gBear's spam filters stops most junk e-mails from entering your inbox. If you do find unwanted spam mail, select the message(s) and click "Report Spam." The more mail you report, the quicker the system will recognize similar and repeat offenders.

Where do I go to set up my vacation message?

You will have to set up your vacation message in gBear, not in eBear. See instructions on setting up a vacation message for your gBear account.

How can I retain the formatting of my pasted text when I am cutting and pasting into a gBear email?

To avoid formatting errors when copying text from a Word doc, you must first paste it into Notepad/TextEdit, and then proceed to paste that text (from Notepad/TextEdit) into your gBear email composition. This removes excess formatting from Word.

Another method is to paste your text into "plain text" format in the composition box, and then change into "Rich formatting" for additional formatting options.

Is there a limit to how many messages I can send at one time?

Your sending limit differs if you are using gBear mail versus if you are using an email client. See information on sending limits.

gBear Calendar

What is the difference between gBear Calendar and Google Calendar?

gBear Calendar includes features for IT administrators that aren't available in Google Calendar, including the ability to set sharing options and create resources that users can incorporate into their calendars.

How can I sync my gBear Calendar with another Calendar client?

See instructions on syncing your gBear Calendar with another calendar client.

How can I fix "Sorry, Calendar is temporarily unavailable error"?

See instructions on help with the error message.

gBear Groups

What is gBear Groups?

gBear Groups allows for the creation and management of mailing lists and email aliases. We currently use MUSE at Barnard to create and manage mailing lists and aliases; those lists will be migrated to gBear Groups over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year. During the migration period, some new lists and aliases are still being created in MUSE.

I am a current list (or alias) owner—when will my list (or alias) migrate from MUSE to gBear Groups?

We will be migrating College mailing lists and aliases from MUSE to gBear Groups over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year. We will contact all list owners with additional information before their lists and aliases are migrated.

How do I reqeust a gBear Group?

Requests for a gBear Group to use as a mailing list or alias should be submitted to the BCIT Service Desk, preferably using webhelpdesk.barnard.edu, or send email to help@barnard.edu.   Please download, fill out, and attach a Group Request Form to your request.  

Student clubs should contact the Office of Student Life to submit a request.

Does this replace the mass mailing feature in eBear?

No, eBear will continue to be used for standard mass mailings. Note that requests for mass mailings are not mediated by the Service Desk. For more information, see more detailed information about Mailing Lists.

gBear Privacy and Security

Is my data safe and secure in Google?

Your email is your data. Google doesn't own it--you do. All communication is encrypted whenever you use the web-based email and web-based calendar. If you sync your email or calendar with smart phones, that data may not be encrypted. All email is filtered for spam, viruses, and to prevent phishing attacks. Google will never sell your data, nor will you see ads in gBear (unlike your personal Gmail account.)

Barnard's Policy on Computer Use still applies, which states that under some conditions the College has the right to examine electronic information stored on or passing through Barnard's servers and networked resources, including your gBear account.

What is the risk that our data could be hacked, corrupted, or lost in the cloud?

There is always a risk that networked data can be hacked, corrupted or lost whether it is at Barnard or in the cloud (e. g., on the Internet at Google.) The technical experts at Barnard and at Google will work in close collaboration to minimize those risks.

What assurances do we have that Google will protect my online data such as information regarding research on human subjects?

Email from any provider has no guarantee of privacy and Google is no different. Security? Yes, but it depends on whether you handle your email in a secure manner. Google provides all of the options, but you (the user) have to employ best practices. This is true of any email system you use.

Where can I find more information about Google's privacy and security policies?

For more information on Google's privacy and security features, visit the following Security and Privacy Resources on Google:

• Google Online Security Blog
• Google Security Principals
• Google security and privacy (FAQ)
• Comprehensive review of security and vulnerability protections for Google Apps
• Google Apps Education Edition: communication, collaboration and security in the cloud
• Security FAQ