New Plusnet Webmail platform goes live

[#1]

Those of you familiar with our Webmail platform may have noticed this morning that it's had a bit of a facelift. We've been running an open trial of the new service since late last year and have been really happy with the results so today we've decided to remove the 'beta' label and make the service the default Webmail offering. The old Webmail platform will run in parallel with the new service for a few months but will eventually be decommissioned. Until then, you can access it by clicking the 'basic webmail' button on the login page or by browsing to webmail.plus.net/squirrelmail When you first log into the new Webmail platform, any address book entries from the old platform should be automatically carried across. We've seen a few examples today where this hasn't (or has only partially) happened though so if you find yourself in this position then please refer to the information I've posted over on our discussion forums. If you've not yet had chance to familiarise yourself with the new Webmail platform then have a read of my post from December last year that showcases some of the basics. Feel free to let us know what you think by leaving a comment below ...

[#2]

could someone tell me how to get to the compose page on this new website.I am completely baffled by the new set up.Why change something that worked well previously?

[#3]

Totally RUBBISH new set up. Change it back please or I will be moving to another company. Why can't you people leave well alone????

[#4]

Not happy at all with this - think I'll start looking for a new ISP. As stated above - why change something that works ?

[#5]

I actually like the new set up

[#6]

why meddle???? leave basic webmail alone,or i will looking for new isp too.if aint broke why fix it??looks too complicated & hard to navigate.who actually thinks up these half baked ideas'?

[#7]

Where's Message Highlighting Folder Preferences Gone ? Based upon given criteria, incoming messages can have different background colors in the message list. This helps to easily distinguish who the messages are from, especially for mailing lists.

[#8]

Let's have folder size without having to go through menus and clicking. Takes a long time to show me 1.5gb folder size.

[#9]

Bottom half of the top right menus does not show unless I make fonts really really small on 2 browsers

[#10]

Compose .... hover cursor over 2nd icon. Names for icons would be nice.

[#11]

Its Crap. I can only delate one message at a time. I can only send an e-mail to one person at a time. etc etc. It was done without any warning and took me ages to get any mail. I pay for broadband at two different addresses and don't want to waste my time figuring out what some techno geek has inflicted without warning. I just am not computer savvy enough to figure this lot out. Why are you treating long-time customers like this? John Keith

[#12]

I only use PlusNet Webmail as backup for my other main email provider, ( PlusNet Webmail is unavailable too often) if that is working ok, I just delete all whenever I log in anyway.

[#13]

I too am not impressed with the new format of email's and agree with the comments made about it. When I logged on it took me ages to find out what to do. Why did you people have to mess about with the old format, like the man said 'if it ain't broke why mend it'. I also now have to log in with my full email address instead of one letter.

[#14]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. Please be mindful that we haven't just landed this on people. There's been *loads* of discussion with existing customers over recent years about our Webmail offering. Take for example the 53 page forum thread over here! - http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,270.0.html It stands to reason that any change is going to take some getting used to. This is why **the old platform is still available to use** whilst you familiarise yourself with things. You can get to it by either clicking the 'basic webmail' link on the login screen or browsing to https://webmail.plus.net/squirrelmail @aer4mjr, this is where the compose message button is - http://users.plus.net/QL:B5D4F0AB @debbie @roger, sorry to hear you don't like the new platform. What aspects of it don't you like compared to the old offering? SquirrelMail was only ever intended as a temporary solution when we replaced our AtMail-based Webmail platform several years ago - although it's understandable I guess that many of you won't have been around that long. @PlusComUK, Can you try and keep feedback to a single post or perhaps amalgamate your feedback and take it to the discussion forums. It's going to be hard to address your concerns/observations here in the format you've posted them in. - Message highlighting is not a feature of the new platform so is no longer available. - You can't see folder size at all using the last platform so I'm guess you're asking for the new functionality to be made more accessible. - Regarding the menu placement, perhaps you can provide a screengrab? What resolution are you using? It would need to be 1024x768 mimumum. - Names for icons should be achieveable by altering the skin. In fact it looks like this is already planned for the next build of the software - http://trac.roundcube.net/ticket/1485419 In the interim they have alt text if you hover over them. By the way, if you've a folder that's 1.5GB then you ideally need to take measures to reduce its size as that's above the maximum amount of storage we normally allow. @John, you can delete multiple messages at any one time as I explained in my reply to your forum post here - http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,103921.msg884269.html#msg884269 Also, we did *not* implement this without warning. We opened the platform up for testing last December and I posted a service announcement in advance of the work taking place. http://community.plus.net/blog/2011/12/01/roundcube-launch/ http://usertools.plus.net/status/archive/1333644098.htm

[#15]

you can delete more than one email at a time. I'm so glad they have got rid of that stupid code you had to put in each time which was not very user friendly in a busy workplace. I hated the last version so much. Happy to give this one a go.

[#16]

The reason i chose Plusnet webmail in the first place was for it's no nonsense, clear, "does what it says on the tin " format and functioning. Consequently, I really dislike this new webmail which is fiddly and unclear. i can get this elsewhere. Given that the old webmail is being phased out, and that Plusnet looks so far that it isn't going to take much heed of all this negative feedback, i also will most likely will be joining the ranks of those who will be looking for a new ISP once my current package expires.

[#17]

My main concern is the new 5.5m attachment limit. The old 7m was restrictive enough, now if you want to send a pdf of reasonable substance, you have to convert it into a number of small jpegs. Also all the added information regarding my address book i.e. phone numbers etc. has disappeared, is there any way of transferring it from the old system?

[#18]

Fantastic! Immeasurably improved over the old webmail, which was slow and clunky. Thank you PlusNet for this excellent upgrade.

[#19]

@M Robertson, sorry you don't like it. Have you looked at collecting your email from a dedicated email application rather than relying on Webmail? Not everybody is going to like the new version, but the majority of feedback we've had whilst people have been testing it is favourable. It's ironic really. SquirrelMail was intended as a temporary replacement for something that was certainly not a basic offering, and at the time many people didn't take to kindly us dumbing things down so significantly - http://atmail.com/ Have you looked at Gmail? You could configure that to pick your Plusnet email up if you prefer its interface? Would be a shame to see you move ISP over something so trivial. @Graham, didn't realise the attachment limit was different. I'll see if we can get that changed. What information besides the phone number is missing? Not sure if we can migrate it across but we might be able to provide you with an exported copy.

[#20]

I have had problems for a few days then i was not informed about the change i hate it have an awful time loggin in will be leaving for a better internet provider

[#21]

Hi Christina, I'd suggest subscribing to our Service Status RSS/Email feed if you'd like to be informed of changes like this. http://usertools.plus.net/status/email.php http://usertools.plus.net/status/ It also helps to keep tabs on the blogs we post here. Why are you having so many problems logging in and what is it you don't like about the new platform. You are aware you can still use the old one for the time being whilst you get used to it aren't you?

[#22]

My initial reaction -"this is terrible", but I'm getting used to it. However, like someone else has mentioned, I've lost some info from my address book which I'd like to get back. It would be possible to put it back, but I don't know where to put it. I used this information to group addresses together, & I'd like to be able to do that again. Is there a help section somewhere that you can look at to find out how to do things?

[#23]

I have participated on the trial phase and am fairly satisfied with the performance of the Beta. Two points I have raised are 1. There seems to be a very much shorter time allowed when composing an email compared with SM. Timing out is a PITA. 2.The Address book is very much the inferior set-up. I Will stick with SM as long as it lasts.

[#24]

@Stella, we've not any help articles yet. We were looking to update the existing ones tomorrow. If there's anything people would like to see added to these guides then let me know.

[#25]

@Graham @Stella, was the information you're missing originally entered in the 'Additional info' field of the SquirrelMail address book?

[#26]

Well, this new system has totally messed everything up for me - I can no longer log-in to my mailboxes, despite Plusnet analysts saying they've tested them and there shouldn't be a problem. I need this sorting out pronto but seem to be going around in circles. (Forgive my ignorance but is Webmail the same as E-Mail ? )

[#27]

I've had due cause to be unhappy with some aspects of Plusnet (Chiefly the performance of the Customer Disservice people), but this new WebMail is clear and instinctive. I have no problem with it at all, so well done.

[#28]

I am a recent migrator from Madasafish and think that plusnet is brilliant! (That's not to say that I was dissatisfied with madasafish. Far from it - I moved for economy reasons). However, I thought the old plusnet mail was not up to scratch and still used my web log in to madasfish. Now that has all changed with the new version. It is simple and clear -I love it! Long may it continue.

[#29]

Hmmm.. this interface looks familiar.. Yes, RoundCube if I'm not mistaken 🙂 The old "SquirrelMail" was very basic and an upgrade was definitely needed. Did you consider Horde in your choices? That seems to be one of my favourite webmail packages (although, saying that, most of my non-plusnet stuff goes through GMail.) Would be great if you could plusify the buttons along the top. Maybe you should launch a competition to find a budding artist to design some new buttons? - offer a months free broadband for the winner? ;-) One thing I would like to see please is the ability to change the size of the fonts. This was available in the other version. I tried to increase the font size in the new version by pressing Ctrl and the + key but the text just wouldn't change size.

[#30]

I was forced to use the old system for three months while away from home and found it very cumbersome. The new Webmail is BRILLIANT! I much prefer it to Outlook Express. Mike

[#31]

@Graham @Stella, was the information you're missing originally entered in the 'Additional info' field of the SquirrelMail address book? Yes Bob as well as the obligatory email addresses, there are other details such as phone numbers etc. in the SquirrelMail. I realise additional info. can be added to the new address book by dragging the right side of the panel across the page and editing the highlighted name with the subsequent drop down menu. I just wondered if there was a less time consuming method of transferring information 'en bloc' rather than individually?

[#32]

Yes Bob it was.

[#33]

Thanks. It's odd because the information doesn't seem to be stored in the same database table as all the other fields. |owner|nickname|firstname|lastname|email|label| I'll have a word with someone to see if there's any way of importing the data but I can't make any promises.

[#34]

I find the new web site very austere to look at. Does it have to be this clunky? I dislike the way there is an extra pane below the emails which is difficult to remove. If you move from inbox to eg sent mail, it all has to reload when you return. Far too much loading going on virtually all the time. Can we have the old interface back please?

[#35]

Diane, you can disable the preview pane by navigating to Settings > Mailbox View. The loading should be similar across both platforms as they both connect to our mail servers using IMAP. The old platform doesn't have the fancy javascript loading indicator though. The old interface is still available if you'd rather carry on using that however it's unlikely to be around forever.

[#36]

I'm sticking with the old one, it's much more user friendly. After being requested to reduce a folder size, I did so by creating new folders and transferring emails. What a palaver, must have taken me well over an hour, kept being logged out, error messages because move couldn't handle more than 5 emails at a time ( out of 60+) Had to quit and re-log in many times Some emails copied across, not moved Couldn't delete folders, did so eventually, a day later Kept having to log out and back in to see the folders correctly. etc, etc At least PN webmail is only a back up for my emails. To see how it should be done, graphically and instantly, look at Apple Mail !!

[#37]

Hi: Have just logged on to my email. What the heck,is going on? What has been the point of changing to what has been a brilliant email program I can't at the moment 'save' my username and password, I'm now having to type this in everytime I want to use Plusnet email. What's the point of changing this? for me it has worked great for the past 3 years or so. I don't like it at all. Can I please have the old email interface back ASAP. I find it much more friendly.How can I get back? Regards Ron...

[#38]

@Mike Wilson @geraldscotford @Gordon thanks for the positive feedback! @Joyce, if you provide me with some means of identifying your account then I'll hapily take a look into your problem (support ticket reference or username?) If we can log in though then it suggests that there's nothing wrong with your email account or the new Webmail platform. You are aware you can still use the old Webmail platorm aren't you? Email isn't the same as Webmail. Your email can be accessed in a multitude of ways, using Webmail is just one of them. @James Pask, yes we did look at Horde (We used to use Horde as a Webmail solution for our Pay As You Host brand). Thanks for the suggestion regarding the buttons. There's been a few requests from people that we change them so hopefully we'll get round to updating the skin at some point. What browser are you using? It's odd that CTRL/+ doesn't work. It does for me using the latest build of Firefox. @PlusComUK, Apple Mail is a local email client though isn't it? It's bound to be more efficient than a web-based application. The problem housekeeping your mailbox sounds like it would have happened with the old Webmail platform too.

[#39]

@Ron, sorry you don't like it. See here for information about saving your username and password, it's something we're looking to introduce - http://community.plus.net/forum/index.php/topic,100755.msg884160.html#msg884160 You can access the old platform by clicking the 'basic webmail' hyperlink on the login page or by browsing directly to https://webmail.plus.net/squirrelmail

[#40]

Thanks Bob, all is now sorted ! Turns out I was using the wrong passwords -simply because after so many years of not having to type them in (as mentioned by Ron above)I had to guess and, unfortunately, got them wrong. I have since worked out how to change passwords.....

[#41]

@ Ron Brock "can't at the moment 'save' my username and password, I'm now having to type this in everytime I want to use Plusnet email. What's the point of changing this?" I forgot to mention this, it is extremely annoying may have to change username and password to a single letter, if I can.

[#42]

@PlusComUK, your comment was probably tongue in cheek however the minimum number of characters you can choose when changing your password is eight.

[#43]

tic maybe. Looks like my password will perhaps be 8 character the same then. Will this be sorted though, one click and you're in from remember username and password as on the older (current) webmail ?

[#44]

Hi I have been with this ISP since the very beginning with Force 9, I've seen lots of changes over the years and it would take a lot to make me change. Most of the complaints seem to be about things which are actually there but are just "different", yes the old mail had some pluses - highlighting mail was really useful - and if the username and server could be remembered as before that would be great. You can still mark and move multiple mail by highlighting first and then using the buttons or click and drag. Apply some basic computing skills and it works really well.

[#45]

Tesco webmail is an example of how to do it. Colourful, fast to load and perform actions, never had an error message yet, and doesn't log you out for ages. http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7681/tescowebmail.jpg

[#46]

totally baffled... please change it back now!!!! ive ended up deleting all my saved emails because i dont understand whats going on here. on the old format i could show a whole page of emails and mark them to be deleted accordingly. now all i get is a small box which wont show all messages, its a farce!!!!

[#47]

It has taken 10 years for my children and grandchildren to talk me into going "on line". It has taken Plusnet 5 minutes to turn me off the idea, revert to sanity or I am afraid that it is "auf wiedersehen pet" Eric Sharp- aged 80 and too old to become an IT expert????.

[#48]

It took my children and grandchildren 10 years to persuade me to go "on-line". It has taken Plusnet 5 minutes to make me regret that decision. Do something or I am afraid it is "auf wiedersehen pet"-I am too old at 80 to become,or indeed want to be an I.T. expert. Regards Eric Sharp.

[#49]

I just had my dad (Plusnet customer) on the phone saying he's back from holiday and couldn't get into Webmail any more. I managed to direct him to the new https://webmail.plus.net but he says there's now no option to delete email. Can anyone tell me where this has been "hidden"? (I cannot log in to actually see myself).

[#50]

@Cliff, select the email you want to delete, you can drag and drop it to the Deleted items folder or click on the red Ø icon

[#51]

Personally I find the new web interface an improvement over the old squirrelmail. One feature I would like added however is the ability to add the TO: email address field in the list options, and be able to sort by it. Emails to multiple addresses come in to my default Plusnet inbox. It would be useful to be able to see, filter, and sort by those addresses. However I wouldn't be using webmail at all if Plusnet had proper encryption on communications to/from their email servers. Any clues as to when that's likely to occur...if ever? I'm surprised providing a new webmail client was deemed more useful/important than fixing that omission first. The standard response "...we're looking into launching this feature..." is wearing a bit thin after all these years waiting for it.