Standardized email signature
in [Outlook]
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From: JohnB on 25 Mar 2010 13:40 Is there a way, either via a Group Policy or script, to push a company wide signature for Outlook clients? Our marketing people have come up with a standard signature that they want everyone to use and, they gave me *their* steps to provide to all users, to create it in in Outlook. But many of our users will be totally lost, and I'll get buried in calls if we go that route. I'd prefer to push it out, and then just give them instructions on how to insert a line, to add their own name and title.
From: JohnB on 25 Mar 2010 14:38 Well... not that kind of signature. I'm talking..... John Doe - Vice President of Nothing (877) 555-1212 - cell (877) 555-1234 www.OurWebsite.com #1 in Making Stuff That Doesn't Work!! And this would get pushed out with just the last 2 lines. Then they would add their name and phone number. "VanguardLH" <V(a)nguard.LH> wrote in message news:hoga2p$scn$1(a)news.albasani.net... > JohnB wrote: > >> Is there a way, either via a Group Policy or script, to push a company >> wide >> signature for Outlook clients? >> >> Our marketing people have come up with a standard signature that they >> want >> everyone to use and, they gave me *their* steps to provide to all users, >> to >> create it in in Outlook. But many of our users will be totally lost, and >> I'll get buried in calls if we go that route. I'd prefer to push it out, >> and then just give them instructions on how to insert a line, to add >> their >> own name and title. > > You don't do that in Outlook. Policies get pushed onto a host when the > user > logs into a domain, not afterward. That means users can change policies > after logging in if they have permission to do so. Users can modify the > configuration settings of Outlook, so they could disable signatures or > create their own. > > You would need to send a separate e-mail with the conditions disclosed > therein regarding your intended contract and which then provided a link to > obtain the actual message which would show acceptance by the recipient > that > they agreed to your terms; however, you would still have not means of > protecting your sensitive content since anyone receiving the e-mail could > use the provided web page and any login info to obtain that separate > document. For example, claiming in a signature that your e-mails cannot > be > transmitted to another party, like trying to secure its content from > disclosure, cannot be enforced by a signature within the same e-mail that > holds that sensitive content. You would disclose too late your contract > of > conditions for access to the document that is within the same e-mail, even > if that disclaimer were at the top of the message instead of the usual > placement at the end. This is like putting a ladder against your house > but > placing the sign that its use is prohibited at the top of the ladder > instead > of the bottom. No one is forced to blindly accept a contract or > agreement. > A signature within the same e-mail as the content that it purports to > protect is non-enforcable and was not agreed upon by the recipient BEFORE > opening that message. > > You incorporate a company-wide signature up on the Exchange server, not at > the Outlook client. Supposedly this signature is not required for > employees > to see in e-mails sent from other employees, only for e-mails sent outside > the company by its employees to external recipients. However, there is > nothing legally enforcable by such a signature and no protection is > afforded > by the included signature. The recipient won't see the signature until > after they open the e-mail, so they cannot be bound by any conditions > therein. Parties to any contract must know the conditions BEFORE they > choose to agree to the contract. Pretending that your company is not > legally responsible for any malware contained within communications > generated and transmitted by your employees is also not a scapegoat. You > can still be held liable. Saying you are not liable doesn't alter that a > victim can still prosecute for damages; otherwise, every criminal would > issue a disclaimer just before they violated you to alleve them from > possible punishment. > > There is nothing in a company signature that is enforcable nor does it > afford any protection. It makes the company that uses such signatures > look > foolish. The recipient is not legally required to commit to any condition > in a signature that is contained with the same e-mails as the document. > The > recipient also is not legally required to abstain from pursuing > remuneration > for any damages for infected e-mails sent by your company or its > representatives. The disclaimer makes your company look like morons.
From: Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook] on 25 Mar 2010 14:51 "JohnB" <jbrigan(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:%23wY2SJEzKHA.5288(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > Is there a way, either via a Group Policy or script, to push a company wide > signature for Outlook clients? Add the common portion on the server. Don't add it on the client end of things. -- Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]
From: VanguardLH on 25 Mar 2010 14:56 JohnB wrote: > John Doe - Vice President of Nothing > (877) 555-1212 - cell (877) 555-1234 > www.OurWebsite.com > #1 in Making Stuff That Doesn't Work!! > > And this would get pushed out with just the last 2 lines. Then they would > add their name and phone number. The "last 2 lines" would still be something your Exchange server needs to add to all externally outbound e-mails. Since the user is expected to manually add the first 2 lines, there's no configuration needed for that. The user would enter their first 2 lines, send the e-mail, and if it went to an external recipient than Exchange would append its 'company' signature. Of course, and for convenience, the user could still define their own personalized signature in Outlook for their 1st 2 lines. Then Exchange adds the last 2 lines. If users cannot follow the instructions given on how to add their own signature in Outlook then it's time to review just who wrote those instructions that suck. After all, you will end up repeating those same instructions when the user calls you. Whatever you can tell the user is also what should be in the instructions. There is some info at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287070 on where are the signature files. So, I suppose, you could create a default folder and default set of files and then push them out to the workstations. The users would still have to go through the same steps as for when they create their own signature except they will instead be editing one. There is little difference between creating a new signature and having to edit one as far as the instructional steps needed for either.
From: JohnB on 25 Mar 2010 14:57
Can I do that with a Group Policy? Or are you saying on the Exchange server? "Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook]" <tillman1952(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:uAYEBxEzKHA.2552(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > "JohnB" <jbrigan(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message > news:%23wY2SJEzKHA.5288(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > >> Is there a way, either via a Group Policy or script, to push a company >> wide signature for Outlook clients? > > Add the common portion on the server. Don't add it on the client end of > things. > -- > Brian Tillman [MVP-Outlook] |