By Paul TakahashiThe Daily Northwestern

The cause of last month’s WebMail crash has been determined, but a timeline for repairs and a relaunch has not been set, said Wendy Woodward, director of technology support services at Northwestern University Information Technology.

“The unexpected load on the new WebMail system seems to have contributed to its failure,” Woodward wrote in an e-mail to The Daily. “We continue to work toward a WebMail replacement as soon as it is reasonable.”

The March 28 crash occurred an hour after the implementation of a new version of WebMail, which was designed to be more stable and functional. But users reported slow and spotty e-mail service, leading NUIT to reinstate the old version.

NUIT had planned the upgrade to the new version of WebMail because the old system was unreliable, and users would sometimes find their inboxes cleared out. The new version included an extra navigation bar, collapsible menus and support for text in other languages.

The crash does not affect NUIT’s plans to implement a Gmail-based e-mail service for students in June, Woodward said, adding that the project is still in its “early stages” and that NUIT is still “working on the details.”

Although students will be able to switch over to the Google-based service when it becomes available, faculty and staff will remain on WebMail.

But some professors said they intend to continue using other e-mail clients because WebMail lacks certain features, such as spam filters and e-mail access via cell phones.

Philosophy Prof. Mark Sheldon said he uses Mozilla Thunderbird instead of WebMail because Thunderbird offers a superior interface.

“You don’t have to click on (the e-mail) in order to open it,” Sheldon said. “The way the attachments work on Thunderbird is better.”

Meanwhile, physics and astronomy Prof. Pulak Dutta said he uses the Eudora e-mail client because WebMail does not support the Wireless Application Protocol, which allows users to view e-mails from cell phones.

Classics Prof. Daniel Garrison said he uses WebMail, but he too prefers Eudora.

“The lack of a spam filter is a problem,” he said. “Spam is a huge problem at Northwestern, and Northwestern isn’t doing enough to fix it.”

But Garrison said the solution might not be in switching to Gmail.

“There are security and privacy issues,” Garrison said. “The university shouldn’t get in bed with private companies. Northwestern should keep its independence and shouldn’t outsource its e-mail.”

In the meantime, NUIT will continue working toward making additional improvements, Woodward said.

“We are working to improve system stability as an interim measure,” she said. “We are hopeful that an improved system can be deployed for faculty and staff in the near future.”

Reach Paul Takahashi at [email protected].