Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series focusing on the use of BlitzMail on campus.
Despite being as old as members of the Class of 2009, BlitzMail remains the primary mode of communication on campus, though the increasing popularity of cell phones and instant messaging seems to threaten its dominance.
The BlitzMail terminals that blanket the campus and the internet Blitz websites that allow users to access their inboxes remotely have played important roles in helping BlitzMail compete against newer technologies.
Dartmouth's extensive wireless network allows students to access BlitzMail from anywhere on campus, but before the network's installation a few years ago, students relied heavily on the public computers known as "Blitz terminals."
Most of the Blitz terminals on-campus are administered by the Student Assembly, which replaced over 30 computers across campus last Winter.
"We decided last year to update the Blitz terminals because they were failing at an increasing rate," said Lucas Nikkel '05, who administered the program last year for the Assembly. "Last year, they were breaking down so frequently that we felt it was better to just replace them in key locations than to keep trying to repair failing machines."
Some of the terminals were purchased from graduating seniors, but others were new or nearly new. The new eMacs cost about $20,000 altogether, Nikkel said, while six additional iMacs donated from the College warehouse were refurbished with new RAM chips for $40 each.
"We did a campus survey to see where they were most desired and tried to get the new computers into a few of those spots," Nikkel said.
Computers were added in the music department at the Hopkins Center, on the third floor of Fairchild Hall, in the basement of Robinson Hall, and on the third floor of the Collis Center.
Prior to last year's Blitz terminal replacements, seven years had elapsed since the last major overhaul.
"We didn't get the 35-40 Blitz terminals on campus until SA installed them in 1998," current Blitz terminal coordinator Christopher Bertrand '07 said.
While Blitz terminals are useful for students on the go, they are also valuable to groups that want to advertise events and fundraisers.
"This past week I've had seven [advertisers] request space, which is large but not unusually so," Blitz terminal coordinator Andrew Blancero '08 said. "I think the largest ever was 12, and a lot of people, since the ads are on one-minute rotations, believed their ads were forgotten or not posted."
According to Blancero, there are usually about four ads per weekly cycle.
Students who are off-campus can also access their BlitzMail from any computer connected to the internet, thanks to non-Dartmouth administered websites NetBlitz and WebBlitz.
The Basement, a volunteer-based student organization, developed WebBlitz in 1998. After spending a term abroad in Spain connected to the Dartmouth world through a bare text-based client called TextBlitz, Dan Scholnick '00 decided to create the website with David Latham '01.
NetBlitz, another independent website, offers advanced features that not even the BlitzMail program provides. Through its "Ignore Blitzwar" and "Ignore Sender" functions, users can control their incoming e-mail. "Smart Blitz" enables students to send personalized mass e-mails as individual BlitzMail messages by writing simple codes in messages.
Although developments like NetBlitz, Blitz terminals and the on-campus wireless network have reinforced Blitz's status as the primary means of communication among Dartmouth students, instant messaging and cell phones still loom as threats to its superior status. Cell phone use has become more prevalent on campus in the last couple of years largely because new cell phone towers have improved reception.
Nonetheless, students continue to use Blitz religiously.
"Instant Messenger and Blitz have coexisted for a long time and I think there's little threat that BlitzMail will become obsolete," said Nathan Pinsley '07, undergraduate representative to the Council on Computing, a group that tackles computer-related issues at Dartmouth.
"The rising use of IM and cell phones does affect BlitzMail but only for certain uses among certain people," Pinsley said. "The need for a universally-accepted mode of communication like Blitz will remain."
