Question: I've heard people talking about filtering their e-mail. What is a filter?

Answer: Filtering e-mail refers to a set of rules that watch for specific patterns or key words in certain parts of an e-mail message and then take a specific action to each e-mail that matches a specific filter rule. 

You should understand that - filtering is not available on all e-mail programs.

 Your e-mail server is ON 24/7 (or 24 hours a day 7 days a week). It is always there waiting for incoming e-mail messages. Your e-mail client "checks your mail" on preassigned intervals or when you tell it to get your new messages. You may have no new messages or hundreds of new messages when you check your e-mail.

Filtering allows you to set up rules to sort and prioritize your e-mail. You may a receive message from someone where it is vital that you see and respond in a timely manner. For instance, you can flag messages from [email protected] so that you realize that it is there - read it - and reply promptly.

On the other hand, if you are signed up to a list serve you may notice that all e-mail delivered from that listserv has an e-mail address of "[email protected]". Any e-mail from the listserv can be transferred to a folder that is set up to store messages from that listserv. These are usually not as high a priority (to me anyway).

 What to do.

  1. look at your current list of e-mail and decide how you need to categorize them
  2. look for large volumes from listservs or individual users
  3. create directories or folders to house these messages
  4. read the instructions for your particular e-mail client and establish rules
  5. remember to test your filter rules to verify they work the way you anticipate
Remember to check your folders that you have messages automatically transferred to (these usually have some kind of flag that indicates that there are new and unread messages). Messages that do not fit into any of your filters will remain in your inbox. Read these and see if there is a reason to establish more filtering rules.

Question: What if I my e-mail program doesn't have a filter option?
 
 
    Answer: Not much choice here other than to find a different e-mail client.
Question: I use HotMail (or some other services) that does not provide filtering options. What can I do?
 
 
    Answer: Not too many options here either. Many web based mail clients do not provide filters. If you get too many messages to manage without using filters you might want to consider getting a different type of e-mail server.
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