Staff Email Tips

Automatic reply - Vacation Message

NBER staff should set their auto-reply via the NBER’s mail server.  Do not attempt to set this message in Gmail, EM Client, Thunderbird, etc., given the way mail is routed.
 

SPAM and Phishing

NBER staff can request changes to their SPAM handling on the user settings form.

Due to the unique nature of the NBER mail server configuration, staff are advised not to report messages as phishing within Gmail itself.  NBER IT is working on streamlining the delivery of mail to ensure legitimate messages are reaching your inbox and that phishing scams are not.  You will observe differences in the behavior between local mail clients and Gmail.  Please contact it-support@nber.org with specific questions so we can give guidance that reflects your preferred mail software.  Remember that NBER IT will never ask you to change your password via generic messages!
 

Forwarding

Staff should not forward their work email to a personal account per the Employee Guidelines.  All staff have NBER Google Workspace accounts for Gmail, Drive, Docs, and Calendar.
 

Security

Email is not a secure form of communication.  PII or highly confidential information should not be sent via email.  Please use Send Secure or alternative method.  If you are unsure whether your content can be safely transmitted via email, please contact it-support@nber.org.
 

Mail client software

If you are setting up your NBER email in a mail client, you must do some manual configuration in order for your mail to flow correctly. 

Sending mail server

smtp.nber.org is the name of our sending mail server. The standard port to use is 25. If port 25 does not work, then use port 465 or 587.

Receiving mail server

Imap.nber.org is the name of our receiving mail server. The standard port to use is 143. If port 143 does not work then use port 993. Both ports are configured to run via SSL - 143 uses STARTTLS to make it encrypted and 993 is already encrypted via tls/ssl.

Setting up a new mail account

The mail client will usually ask for a username. Use your unix username without the @nber.org domain.