Using randomness to check email correspondence for private messages

Background: If a company forbids private email correspondence, it is important to monitor compliance with the ban. Otherwise a tolerance of private email correspondence might occur.

This Tip explains how approximately five percent of the emails are copied into a separate quarantine data base and are then only accessible to the person monitoring via ACL, using a formula for randomness.

In words:

_Percent := 5;
@if( ((100 - 1) *@Random +1) < _Percent ;@True;@False);

Now, only a Job is required – e.g. a Wall-Job copying the emails into quarantine (original emails are forwarded without alterations), if the outcome is true.

In order for the email to be forwarded to the recipient, “Delete Mail” must be activated.

Moreover, a quarantine differing from the standard quarantine should be chosen, in order to only allow authorised users to access this data base.

 

Explanation:

@Random

Generates a random number between 0 and 1, inclusive.

Syntax:

@Random

Usage:

To generate a random number between any two numbers x and y, use the formula

( y - x )*@Random + x

Source: Lotus Domino Designer 8.5 Help

_Percent := 5;
@if( ((100 - 1) *@Random +1) < _Percent ;@True;@False);

With this formula, a probability value between 1 and 100 is generated. Afterwards, it is checked, whether the value is below 5 (value of the variable “percent”). Thus, approximately five percent of the emails are filtered.