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Group/project alias request
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Group/Project Aliases (@illinois.edu)

Introduction Definition of terms
New Alias Procedure Changing existing Aliases

In addition to people entries in the directory there are a host of group/project aliases. These non-people type aliases are created by request using our web request forms noted below. Currently there is no fee for these aliases. They are used to establish email redirection for colleges, departments, research groups, and registered organizations. Requests may be made by an officer of a Registered Student Organization, or someone acting on behalf of the department, college, or research group. Once created it is the responsibility of the group to keep the information up to date. Most importantly, keeping the proxy field current.

Careful thought needs to go into creating the alias itself. The alias needs to fit the group's scope. For example, an alias of illinois-alumni would not be granted to the LAS Alumni association, as illinois-alumni would imply all alumni of the University. The alias should not be aplicable to more than one group/project/organization. For example campus-pool, could refer to the motor pool, swimming pool, billards not to mention the betting pool. In addition aliases must be at least 9 characters or have a dash "-" in it, so that the group/project alias would never be assigned to a personal entry. Existing shorter aliases are grandfathered in.

Group aliases can remain for as long as it is needed and the organization is still associated with the University. An expiration date of 2 years from creation is set. Aliases will need to be renewed before the expiration date to remain in the directory.

The procedure for creating a new group/project alias goes as follows:

Requests for an alias are made using the Group/project Alias Request Form
  1. The form will ask for:
    1. requested alias
    2. the name of the group/project/organization
    3. email address that mail should be delivered to
    4. person who may make changes to the alias (proxy)
  2. Technology Services then
    1. verifies that the group/project has a University affiliation. For Registered Organizations, this means checking http://www.illinois.edu/ro, to see that the organization is listed and the requestor is an officer of the organization. Departmental requests are also verified.
    2. makes sure that the alias requested is appropriate for the group/project,
      1. Check that the alias is greater than 8 characters or has a dash "-" in it.
      2. the alias requested should symbolize the group/project, and not conflict with other departments/projects/groups.
      3. the alias must satisfy the directory rules as well,
        1. no larger than 32 characters
        2. letters, numbers and dashes only
    3. creates the entry (assuming all checks out) and sends confirmation to requester.
  3. Any of the proxies may use the EDE to update the entry.

Changing an Existing alias:

The proxy to the alias may use the EDE to make changes to the entry. The proxy can also use the Group Alias management form to request changes to multiple aliases. There are times that this procedure does not work.

If you are in this situation, you will have to contact Technology Services ID Management to have your entry updated. Send Technology Services ID Management the current entry, and the changes you would like. In addition, your relation to the group/project. Technology Services ID Management will then follow much the same procedure to verify and make changes.

We also offer a web form to request changes to one or more of your alias entry(s). If you have one or more alias(s) you would like to change, you can use the following form to request changes to your alias entries.

Removing an Existing alias:

The proxy to the alias(s) may request to have one or more existing alias(s) removed.

Renewing an Existing alias:

The proxy to the alias(s) may request to have one or more existing alias(s) renewed.

Term Documentation:

Field Description
alias The alias(netid) for non-person entries can be less than 9 characters if it contains a hyphen. In fact 9 or more characters are encouraged, as they are obviously not people entries. The alias is most commonly an abbreviation of the name of the organization or group/project referenced by the alias. It shouldn't be anything easily confused with another organization, group, project, person, etc.
display name Name of the group/project or organization that the entry represents. This is what will be in the displayName attribute of the entry.
email delivery address Email address of the person (or mailing list) that is to receive the email sent to the alias
proxy The alias(es) or netid(s) of the person(s) who will maintain the information recorded in the requested alias directory entry. The individual(s) will be able to change any of the data fields that can normally be changed by the owner of a directory entry.
expiration date The month the alias(es) will expire. Unless renewed, the alias entry(s) will be removed from the directory.

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