New policy for DND/CF email addresses

[MARS]

I heard about this a couple of weeks ago - here is the direction that my Formation has just issued:
----------------------------------------------------------------
New Government of Canada-wide Standards for Emails and Bilingual Signature Blocks

As part of the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Common Look and Feel Standards for the Internet 2.0, all DND/CF users must implement a new signature block and all email addresses must be changed to comply with the new standards by 31 December 2008.

This site is designed to provide all DND/CF users with the information they need to understand the changes being made to their email addresses resulting from this new direction.

It also provides users with useful tips and instructions to follow to ensure that they comply with government standards and that there is no impact to their email communications.

Changes to DND/CF Email Addresses as of 1 November 2008

For several years, DND and the CF have used the following naming convention for all external email addresses: lastname.initials@forces.gc.ca. On 1 November 2008, DND/CF will adopt the Treasury Board Secretariat standard, which all departments are required to follow. This new standard will result in new external email addresses for all DND/CF members with the first name being used in place of initials as follows: firstname.lastname@forces.gc.ca. Each user will automatically receive a new email address. The email addresses displayed internally will remain unchanged, e.g. Lastname initials@your organization @your geographic location.

DND Standard Email Addresses Example Examples    
Old Email Address lastname.initials@forces.gc.ca johnston.bk@forces.gc.ca    
New Email Address firstname.lastname@forces.gc.ca barbara.johnston@forces.gc.ca

The old email address will continue to function until 1 November 2009, and users will continue to receive all emails sent to their old or new e-mail address during this 12-month period. Both BlackBerry devices and PKI will continue to function normally.

Changes to DND/CF Email Signature Blocks effective 31 December 2008

With the use of email as a communication tool for delivering Government of Canada information, the source and type of contact information at both institutional and individual levels must be clearly identified. Public servants who provide information via email cannot make assumptions regarding the end-use of information. Thus, the Treasury Board Secretariat now stipulates that all email messages must contain enough information to identify the individual and the government institution s/he represents as well as full contact information to facilitate further communication via various methods such as telephone, facsimile or postal mail. The new signature block standard is also fully bilingual.

All emails sent to addresses outside the Government of Canada shall be signed with a standardized bilingual signature block. Each individual must update his or her signature block to the new standard by 31 December 2008.
For more examples of signature blocks, please see the signature block templates.

New DND Standard Email Signature Blocks Example (DND Facilities/Offices Outside Québec, CF Member)    


New DND Standard Email Signature Blocks Example (DND Facilities/Offices Outside Québec, CF Member)
   
First and last name                Raymond Martin
Rank                                    Master Corporal | Caporal-chef
Title (optional)                      Communications Officer | Agent en communications
Directorate                           IM Gp Communications | Communications du Gp GI
Branch                                 Information Management Group | Groupe de gestion de l'information
Department                          National Defence | Défense nationale                   
Mail Address                         Ottawa, Canada K1A 0K2
Email address                       Raymond.Martin@forces.gc.ca
Telephone                           Telephone | Téléphone 613-999-9999
Fax                                      Facsimile | Télécopieur 613-999-9999
Teletypewriter                     Teletypewriter (National Defence) | Téléimprimeur (Défense nationale) 1-800-467-9877
GoC                            Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada

 

[Nfld Sapper]

So that means a signature block like the one I use ain't any good anymore?

My Name Here
MCpl
2 I/C
1 Sect, 1 FD TP
56 ES
local XXXX/XXXX
commercial (XXX) XXX-XXXX/XXX
work email: @forces.gc.ca


EDITED TO REMOVE PERSEC INFO

 

[aesop081]

I'll put that on my list of things to do....... :

 

[Jager]

I'll put that on my list of things to do....... :

No kidding,

So how does one write Supreme overlord in french?  ;D

 

[Loachman]

I signed stuff as "Hubschrauberoberstabmeister" when I was LFCA G3 Aviation.

I could probably bastardize French enough for something equally amusing (or annoying to the native-speakers) for future positions.

 

[BC Old Guy]

No kidding,

So how does one write Supreme overlord in french?   ;D

The friendly people over at Yahoo! Babel Fish suggest : Suzerain suprême .

 

[navymich]

All emails sent to addresses outside the Government of Canada shall be signed with a standardized bilingual signature block. Each individual must update his or her signature block to the new standard by 31 December 2008.

Who are the lucky techs who get to ensure that this is done by everyone?!  :

 

[PMedMoe]

Who are the lucky techs who get to ensure that this is done by everyone?!  :

I imagine that will be a supervisor thing.  I just got ahead of things and changed it already.  :  Just waiting for the first person to email me in French......oh wait, that already happened.  ;D

Edit to add:  MARS, do you have a link for this info?

 

[George Wallace]

So?

How many Robert Jones and Al Smith's are we going to find?

 

[hugh19]

So if this is for outside of Quebec, what is the policy for inside Quebec?

 

[Sub_Guy]

All emails sent to addresses outside the Government of Canada shall be signed with a standardized bilingual signature block. Each individual must update his or her signature block to the new standard by 31 December 2008.

So does that mean I can keep my standard signature for internal emails?

 

[MARS]

The email I posted was sent from the NAVRES IS Help desk.  The embedded links (which did not show up in my posting) do not work.  In the Maple Leaf, it says more info can be found at:

http://img.mil.ca/svcdesk/index_e.asp which brings you to the IM Grp website - this policy does not really jump out off the page - it is surely buried in there somewhere.

WRT internal vs external email signature blocks - I am not that savvy, so I have not been able to find a way to assign external and internal signature blocks to my outgoing emails.  Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Sub_Guy]

I am sure there is no real way of changing your block from external to internal (manually), I am just disappointed that I will never get to use my avatar in my block. (sarcasm)

Although I do have some time before the policy does take effect

 

[armyvern]

John Smiths!!??

LOL.

There's two Vern Gibsons for crying out loud. I get his mail - he gets my mail ... all the time. Even though I outrank him and our rank currently shows ...

This should be good for nothing more than fucking up things even more royally than they already are.

FFS. Enough of the BS already.

Then there is the MCpl in PEI who shares the name with the MP somewhere else in Atlantic Canada ... and the good MCpl was always getting "MilPol" email ... some of which he should never have seen. This ought to be really really good.

 

[armyvern]

Oh geez ... did I just out myself??

Surprise.  :

 

[MARS]

The policy is better explained here: http://img.mil.ca/svcdesk/imit_guide/email/email-clf2/checklist_e.asp

Actually, on closer inspection, that is the exact text of my initial post - but it contains more hyperlinks to a multitude of signature block examples, help desks, sample emails to inform the world of your new email address, etc etc.

It appears that the only difference between units within and outside of Quebec is the order of the bilingual wording (french first inside Quebec, english first outside)

 

[hugh19]

ok I get it now. But really if I want to send a dirty email to my wife when I am at sea, I need to include a signature block so she knows which husband is emailing her????

 

[Eye In The Sky]

Give me a f**king break.  Signature blocks HAVE had a standard that was supposed to be followed and is never enforced.  The only way this will *ever* work is if the signature block is done like they do it at CFLRS for the staff...its automatically populated from your Exchange data fields.

And in the example...a Master Corporal that is a Communications Officer  No MCpl in the CF is a f**kin Officer.   :

This just continues to prove to me many people in our country need a really good kick in the junk.

As already pointed out by a few people, what about all the Joe Gallants or whatever same-name exist?  

Seriously there are so many more im-fuckin-portant things to worry about than this shit.

I've said it before...the STUPIDEST thing they ever did with our email was to make the ability to sent "internet" (via the old SIEM groups) email...not everyone needs to send email 'outside' our department...now every f**kstick with an account can fire what he/she wants outside our email system....

 

[armyvern]

Need a beer EITS? A wee bit frustrated are we?  >

I'm going for one now ...  ;D

 

[MARS]

ok I get it now. But really if I want to send a dirty email to my wife when I am at sea, I need to include a signature block so she knows which husband is emailing her?

So long as it has the common look and feel.  Perhaps you should make sure your dirty email is bilingual as well.   ;D

Fear not everyone, DND has solved all of the problems we are discussing here, with these answers to their FAQs:

http://img.mil.ca/svcdesk/imit_guide/email/email-clf2/faq_e.asp#q8

Top Questions
Q: How does the new naming convention work with double or hyphenated first names and last names, for example names like Jean-François Smith-Bélanger or Mary Ann Parker?

A: In cases where the first names or last names are hyphenated, a hyphen can be included e.g. Jean-Francois.Smith-Belanger@forces.gc.ca. In the second case, the names will be placed together, e.g. MaryAnn.Parker@forces.gc.ca.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: Can I choose a name other than my first name for my new email address?

A: The first name selected to create the new email address is the name identified in the general properties tab in Outlook. If the first name listed is not the first name that you most commonly use in your work environment, you may change it accordingly. Please contact your local Service Desk to request changes to the first name that is listed for you in Outlook. Please see “What do I need to do to prepare for the change on 1 November 2008?” to learn how to check your profile in Outlook.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: What happens when two or more people have the same first and last name? or Why do I have a number at the end of my last name on my email address?

A: Due to the number of email addresses within DND/CF, duplicate addresses can occur. The system cannot deliver email messages to the correct recipient with duplicate email addresses. The conventional method for resolving duplicate email addresses is to add a number after the field preceding the “@” sign. Starting with the number 2, numbers are added to duplicates, as they occur during the email address creation process. Numbers 0 and 1 are not used.
Example: John.Smith2@forces.gc.ca

Generally, numbering (i.e. Rob.Clark3@forces.gc.ca) will be assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Basic Information
Q: Why is this change necessary at DND?

A: All Government of Canada institutions listed in Schedules I, I.1 and II of the Financial Administration Act are mandated to apply the standards defined by the Treasury Board Secretariat. The Department of National Defence is listed under Schedule I.