Monmonier mentions two prank towns appearing in an official map of Michigan, the edge of which showed portions of the neighboring state of Ohio. Some diehard Wolverine fan in the mapmaking department decided that would be a good place to put the nonexistent towns of “goblu” (Go Blue, get it?) and “beatosu,” referring to the University of Michigan’s traditional rival Ohio State.

Note the first: These instructions are specific to the University of Michigan, but if you’re trying to do a bulk forward with Pine, you should be able to replace our specifics with your own. Also, thanks to Daniel Yoo for teaching me (and the rest of the consultant staff) this trick.

Alright, first step is to log into a public computer at a Campus Computing Site. You’ve graduated, so you ought to already know where they are, but in case you don’t, try here. Next, log in to the ITD server. On a PC, a shortcut lives in the start menu under Programs/Internet/UM Internet Resources/; on a Mac, it’s in the little Terminal icon in the dock just to the right of the vertical divider (both of these locations are likely to change as software is updated). Give the program the pops up your uniqname and password, and you’re in!

Note the second: if you’re using Gmail (and you should be!), see below for a special tip before you carry out these main instructions.

Now comes the part that makes you feel like an überhacker (at least, it always does for me):

1. Run ‘pine‘ after logging in
2. Press 'L‘ to list all the folders you’ve created within your mail account
3. Select the folder you’d like to forward using the cursor keys and press enter to view the messages therein.
4. Once in the folder, press ';‘ then 'A‘. (In the folder view, ';‘ gets you into the select menu, and 'A‘ selects all the messages in that folder.) It will tell you "All x messages selected" and all the messages should have an X on its left most column.
5. Now, press 'A‘ then 'B‘.(In the folder view, 'A‘ gets you into the Apply menu, which applies a certain command to the selected messages. 'B‘ selects the bounce procedure to be applied to the selection.)
6. Type your new email address, e.g. user@gmail.com, and press return.
7. Press 'y‘ when it asks you "Send x message to user@gmail.com?"

Pine will then bounce all the messages in that folder to the email address with the original headers (i.e. date sent, sender) intact! Repeat steps 3-7 for each folder you’d like to move.

I should note one caveat about this technique. Since Pine is just bouncing every message in your folder(s) of choice at your new email address, it can’t preserve the folders themselves. If you send three folders’ worth of emails to your new account, they’re all going to show up in your new inbox. Fortunately, there’s a workaround for those who use Gmail:

Special trick for Gmail users

This tip takes advantage of the fact that Gmail treats user@gmail.com and user+ArbitraryString@gmail.com as pointing to the same mailbox.To preserve your folders, follow these steps:

1. Before you begin bouncing your messages with Pine, log in to Gmail and hit the "Create new filter" link.
2. In the "To:" field, put User+FolderName@gmail.com, where "FolderName" is the name of the first folder you’ll be bouncing, and click "Next step."
3. On the next screen, check the box next to "Skip the inbox (archive it)" and "Apply the label…"
4. In the dropdown box next to this option, choose to create a new label and call it whatever the folder is named.
5. Now proceed to step 3 of the Pine instructions above, and bounce it to User+FolderName@gmail.com. Repeat the process for each folder.

Viola! When you’ve finished with the main instructions, you should have a clean inbox and a perfect copy of your folder organization with Gmail’s labels.

What if you’ve already left campus?

If you’re not in Ann Arbor anymore, you can’t very well stop by the Fishbowl to get this done. Fortunately, the Pine software lives on UM’s servers, so if you can log into those, you can still use it. This can be accomplished by using telnet, a generally outdated, insecure technology that I normally wouldn’t recommend for anything. But in this case, go for it! On a PC, open the command line shell (in XP, hit Windows+R, type "cmd," and hit enter. This probably works on Vista, too, but I don’t have Vista in front of me.). On a Mac, open the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal). All set? Now regardless of operating system, type "telnet login.itd.umich.edu" and hit enter. You’ll be prompted for your username (uniqname) and password. A note on the password: like many *nix programs that require authentication, entering your password doesn’t produce any on-screen characters at all, even asterisks. It’s still working fine, regardless. Once you’ve logged in, return to the main instructions above.

After the university-wide commencement, I had another ceremony put on by the poli sci department to run to. Here I was one of the speakers, and I actually managed to get through forty-five seconds on Sigma Iota Rho relatively unscathed (as it turns out, the trend of apathy towards Sigma on the part of the student body also extends to their parents. This worked in my favor.) I had to run out early from the degree-granting ceremony, though — sorry, everybody I missed! — because my sister’s College of Engineering graduation was starting at the same time (I should note that, while we liberal artists didn’t get our reception running until twenty minutes after schedule, I’m told the engineers began right on time).

Following all the graduating, my entire family was exhausted, and it was all we could do to drive sufficiently far enough from campus to find a restaurant that hadn’t been booked solid years in advance. And it was early to bed, since the next morning we had to move Jessica and I out of our old apartment and into a summer sublet, then catch our breath and move my sister out of her coöp. By the time we finished, around ten that night, the family was exhausted anew.

On the whole, graduation was a lot of fun, though, and it’s making me reminisce about my time at Michigan and in Ann Arbor. I could definitely say the same about each of these: on the whole, it was a blast. As it hits me now that I’m leaving the institution and town that really did run my life for the past four years, I’m feeling a little more wistful, maybe, than I was even when I moved here from my hometown. It’s weird, I guess. Then again, I think I was probably thinking the same thoughts in 2003. A look into my old blog (long since removed from the internet) shows

“… The countdown is just reeling now, with 4 1/2 days left for seniors in high school. I really can’t believe that I’m almost out of school. Corunna school has been the unifying factor for just about all my life over which I have recollection, so it’s mighty powerful to think of it just ending on Friday. But I’m convinced that it’s been great, and I’m just as excited as I am nostalgic about it, even if it doesn’t show!”

I guess I don’t remember being that enthusiastic, but there it is. I’m in the same boat now. Michigan was fun, but it’s very cool to be moving on. I hope the next four years are as good as these last four.

Sweeeet!

I don’t know how many of my readers also follow Left Behind at the Fishbowl, the site where a mysterious author picks out the best documents he or she finds left on our many public printers, mocks them viciously, and posts them online, but I’m guessing a fair number do. You’ll be as chuffed as I was, then, to see the tantalizing artifact I picked up from a scanner today (with intrepid coworker Amy) while working at the site.

Today’s find, pictured at right, went up on AHFB two days ago. I note with satisfaction that apparently Mr. or Ms. Fishbowl scans his or her work right here at Angell Hall, not five feet from the front desk of what is certainly his or her most fanbase. My deducing skills aren’t revealing any more clues about the mysterious author, but I’ll keep the evidence just in case.

Actually, considering the (more or less) love that we Fishbowl consultants have for AHFB, maybe I’ll make a little trophy plaque and hang it in the break room…

EDIT: Immortalized.