tortdog wrote:Anytime we use an e-mail account on a server other than our own (SBC, Sprint, Google, AOL, etc.) this will be an issue, correct? Often times we send information on meetings, etc., via e-mail, and a copy of that information then sits on that e-mail server unless our e-mail client is set to download and delete from the server (sometimes the case).
I have not been aware of any such draconian policy restrictions applied to email. There is apparently some common sense applied. Some of the most sensistive files I would not advise sending by email without encryption, but bishoprics exchange private information by email all the time.
I think it does make a difference whose email server is being used. The big vendors tend to have published privacy policies and terms and conditions that offer protection. So do ISPs. But your employer may extend no such protection to its domain if you use your work email for personal (church) use. Typically employer computer systems and their contents are deemed to be the property of that employer. And if, for example, you work for any level of government, the chances are that a court would not recognize a "reasonable expectation of privacy" for Fourth Amendment purposes over your personal data on that system. So for many good reasons, including employer policy, I try to avoid personal emails to/from my work address.
And if your email is hosted on a hand-me-down server in someone's spare room (@scriptkiddies.net) all bets are off.