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Email attachments sent to mlssupport@ldschurch.org

Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 12:13 am
by RealityCheck
I was surprised to learn recently that emails with attachments sent to mlssupport@ldschurch.org are automatically "stripped" of the attachments after being routed to the appropriate destination. I understand that this is a "known" issue and that a solution is being worked on (i.e., a way to let the email with attachments through the system intact).

The fact that this problem exists really isn't that troubling: I understand that setting up new systems can be problematic and can take time to resolve. What I have trouble understanding is the apparent lack of communication or alerts concerning the issue.

Almost every email communication I send to LUS has an attachment (if a picture is worth a thousand words, an attachment is worth...well, I think you get the idea). After sending multiple emails recently with attachments concerning issues that I needed help resolving, I received replies that were generally nonsense and didn't answer the questions or resolve the issues. I wondered if a surge of yet-to-be-trained employees were answering the emails or if I had suddenly lost my ability to communicate clearly with LUS after years of clerking service.

It wasn't until MONTHS later that a kind soul from LUS called me during the day (in response to a previous email I had sent) and essentially said, "I don't understand what you are asking in this email. You obviously refer to attachments that were sent with the email, but we aren't getting attachments..." Epiphany! My emails to LUS and the replies to them made NO SENSE because the attachments were removed by the time they were read!

So, I have a few questions that I would love your help answering:

  • Was there some alert or notification about this email dis-attachment issue that was sent out that I somehow missed? I'm not perfect but I am quite thorough in reading what is sent.
  • If there was no heads-up about the issue, why not? Experiencing problems is understandable, but causing months of fruitless attempts to get help because of a known but uncommunicated issue is something quite different.
  • What is the current status of the email dis-attachment issue? When should we expect a resolution?
  • In the meantime, what do you propose as a work-around?
If an idea is helpful, may I suggest two possible work-arounds? The first would be the use of an established church ftp site that attachments could be uploaded to (if such a site exists?). The second, and potentially even better idea, is to use one of the many free file hosting sites to upload attachments when those attachments are critical to clear communication. (Ftp sites, as you are probably aware, are generally less secure than file hosting sites.) The email message to mlssupport@ldschurch.org would contain the normal text message with a "link" to one of these file hosting sites so that the "attachments" can be easily downloaded. The free file hosting sites I am referring to would include, but not be limited to, sites such as:

Typically, these types of file hosting sites are used when the attachment is too large for email. In this case, it could be a temporary solution to the communication gap created by emails to LUS being stripped of their attachments.

I welcome your help and response.