What Is Trail Mail

Trail Mail is an electronic mailing list or email group that has become an important communication tool for our members. Please remember that when you send a Trail Mail it goes to the ENTIRE organization. That means Southern Oregon as well as Eastern and all over the state. Is your email relevant to everyone? Please be thoughtful about that. We do not want to inundate the members with emails that are not relevant. Use your chapters email and address other chapter chairs to get your information across specific areas.

You Must be a Member

This is an email group that is not open to the public but is for members only. It is purged a couple times per year. Please make sure any updates for your email address or any other member information ie; phone, home address are also updated through our:

membership@oregonequestriantrails.org.

Trail Mail Features

Once you join Trail Mail there are a number of very useful features, however, to gain access to all the features, requires you to create or have a Google User Account. This account creates a new email address for you, but you are not required to use it for the email if you already have an email address with another provider like AOL, Hotmail, or Yahoo. This Google account will be used to access Trail Mail download file features via the Google Drive App.

Joining with a Google Account, You can:
  • Send and receive Trail Mail messages from your primary email window on your computer.
  • Post or read messages to the OET trail mail list through the Google Groups.
  • Upload or download OET related shared documents, pictures, and files. It can also create shared folders.
  • See all messages sent since the year 2020 when the list was created.
  • See members on the list and send messages to individuals.
  • Edit your own Membership settings related to the OET trail mail Google group.
Joining without a Google Account

When you choose not to have a Google User Account you are only able to:

  • Send and receive Trail Mail messages from your email application on your computer.
Join OET Trail Mail

Please remember you must be an OET member to join OET Trail Mail. When you submit your request we will verify that your membership is current. Once your membership expires, you will be removed.

To join OET Trail Mail follow these steps.

OET Trail Mail Access Request
This Form is used to request access to the OET Trail Mail email Group & the OET Trail Mail File Cloud Storage Folders.
This is the Email Address that is currently registered with the OET Membership Coordinator. This will be used to verify your member access.
This is optional: If your OET registered email address is a Google-managed address, leave this field blank. If your OET registered email is not a Gmail address then enter a Google email account to use for accessing the OET Trail Mail Files. If you don’t want access to the OET Trail Mail Files, just ignore this field.

OET Trail Mail File Cloud Storage

In addition to receiving and sending email to the OET Trail Mail members, you now have the ability to access OET files pertaining to OET activities, past Riders Roundup, the Bylaws, Workparty Forms and more. This also gives you the chance to share information.

The OET Trail Mail Cloud Storage is managed under “Google Workspace for Education” and is easily accessible using the Google Drive App and your Google managed account. Any member with a Google account can access the OET Trail Mail Cloud Storage folders using the Google Drive App. To use the Google Drive App requires a Google-managed internet account. For users that use Gmail, just use that account and open the Google Drive App. For other users, you will need to create a Google account. A google account can be created with any account name like username@yahoo.com, username@msn.com, or username@aol.com. Please see the section below, “Getting Access to OET Online Resources“, where it helps you set up your Google account with a few easy steps. This is recommended for all OET Members, especially Chapter or State leaders.

If you need help using the Google Drive App, here is How to use Google Drive – Google Drive Help. Here is information on how to create a Google Account with or without using Gmail. (IF YOU ARE CONFUSED OR UNSURE READ THIS FIRST Using OET Trail Mail Cloud Storage).

Getting Access to OET Online Resources

OET offers a variety of online resources to enhance your membership experience. To access these resources, we utilize Google Apps, a suite of free tools specifically designed for non-profit organizations like ours. Here’s how to ensure smooth access:

Already using Gmail? Great!

Your existing Gmail address will serve perfectly for accessing OET’s online resources. We assign resources based on the primary email address you provided with your membership application.

Using a different email provider? No problem!

If your primary email address isn’t a Gmail address (e.g., @aol.com, @msn.com, @outlook.com, @me.com, @icloud.com, etc.), you’ll need to create a free Google account using that same email address or add it to a Google account you already own. This won’t affect how you currently receive emails through your existing email service provider. It simply uses your email as a Google username to access OET online resources.

Tip: Did you know you can use any email address you own to create a Google account or add it to an existing Google account. Doing either won’t change how you receive emails through your existing email provider, but it will give you access to our OET online resources.

Ready to get started? Choose your preferred method below!

Method 1

I don’t currently have a Google account. I’d like to create one using my primary email address to access OET’s online resources.

Create a Google account using your existing email address.

  1. Go to the Google Account Sign In page at (https://accounts.google.com/signin).
  2. Click Create account.
  3. Enter your name.
  4. Click Use my current email address instead.
  5. Enter your current email address.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Verify your email address with the code sent to your existing email.
  8. Click Verify on the email you received.

Method 2

I have a Google account with a Gmail address, but it’s different from the main email address I used to register with OET. I’d like to add my primary personal email address to my Google account as an additional username.

Add an alternate email address to my Google account.

  1. Open your Google Account (https://myaccount.google.com/). You might need to sign in.
  2. Select Personal info.
  3. Under “Contact info,” click Email.
  4. Next to “Alternate emails,” select Add alternate email or Add other email. You may need to sign in again.
    Note: It must be added under “Alternate emails” so it can be used to sign in to your account. If it’s used elsewhere under contacts you must remove it from the other location before adding it under Alternate where it will also function as a recovery email address.
  5. Enter an email address you own. Select Add.
  6. Verify your email address with the code sent to your existing email.
  7. Click Verify on the email you received.
Trail Mail General Usage Guidelines

As Trail Mail is a community of OET members, it is important to use this list respectfully and responsibly. Its primary purpose is to encourage communication and share information. However, we do want to limit this scope to subjects that are of interest to OET members. Try to keep a few points in mind when you contribute to this list. Below is a summary of the rules, please read the full list of Trail Mail Rules when you first join:

  • No Attachments—Do not include any attached files with your posts. These will not be sent along. Files and photos can be uploaded to the Google Groups web site as is discussed below.
  • No “forwarded” messages—Do not pass along any emails, regardless of the topic, that has already been “forwarded to everyone you know”. This often creates duplicate copies!
  • No “personal” conversations—Remember that when you hit “Reply” to answer a message, you are replying to the entire list, not just the author of the message. You must address a new message to the author to send a private reply. Many discussions are quite suitable for the group, but when it gets down to “what time should I pick you up” sorts of things, that should go to private email.
  • No “Flaming”—In Internet jargon this simply means keep it civil. Disagreements are to be expected in any lively exchange of ideas. All list members are expected to be respectful of others at all times. E-mail is very impersonal and is easily miss construed. Members are encouraged to be careful of their wording and even re-read their messages before hitting that “send” button, but it is also important to develop a tolerance and give the benefit of the doubt to the author whenever possible.
Want more than just Trail Mail

Google Groups (groups.google.com) offers us a great deal more than just an email server. The web site itself provides our members with many valuable features. However, you must have a Google account to access the additional Group features. After you have created a Google account and have subscribed to OET Trail Mail, point your Internet browser to https://groups.google.com/a/oregonequestriantrails.org/forum/#!forum/trailmail and log in. You will arrive at the Groups Welcome page of “OET Trail Mail” where you can see previous messages. To access the shared files, open the Google Drive App from your Google account, and look in the “Shared With Me” folder for “OET Trail Mail Files”. From here you can download and upload files to share with other OET Trail Mail members.