Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth complained about BlitzMail's lack of innovative features.
"Compared to [the e-mail system at] my prep school and other e-mail systems I'm used to, Blitz is behind the game," David Rufful '12 said.
Although the College and Microsoft have not yet announced what features will be part of the College's new e-mail system, Rufful noted that there is a lot of room for technological improvement.
"[BlitzMail] has a lot of limitations," he said. "For example, when you're typing a message on [BlitzMail] there is no spell correction, and when you're composing a message and start typing a name, the full name doesn't pop up."
Although the lack of such features are minor flaws with BlitzMail, Rufful said he believes they make a significant difference in the system's usability. BlitzMail also lacks several features such as chat rooms and instant messaging that exist in other systems, he said.
Due to the limitations of the BlitzMail system, Michael Joseph '12 said that he expected the e-mail provider to be phased out.
"Well, I've always been expecting [BlitzMail] to change," he said. "It's an old, out-dated system with limited functionality. From the start of freshman year, I've actually been running my [BlitzMail] off of Apple's Mail program and believe it's given me greater versatility and is easier to use."
Other students interviewed by The Dartmouth said that BlitzMail should remain the College's e-mail system given its prominent place in Dartmouth history and campus culture.
"When I came to Dartmouth on my recruiting trip, everyone was talking about [BlitzMail]," Naomi Stahl '12 said. "I didn't really get it until I actually came here, but for me it became a big part of my Dartmouth experience because here traditions are so important."
BlitzMail has also unified students and faculty at the College, Stahl added.
"Everyone does their own thing here, but I think it's really cool that we all have [BlitzMail] in common," she said. "It definitely adds to the close community here."
Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth who opposed the transition to Microsoft praised BlitzMail's simplicity and familiarity.
"I am accustomed to what we already have," Zawadi Rowe '12 said. "The way you can just blitz someone, similar to instant messaging, is pretty convenient."
If many new features are added, the program may become difficult for certain students to navigate, Stahl said.
"For me, [BlitzMail] has always been perfect since it's so easy to use," she said. "I hope Microsoft won't be too confusing."
Multiple students interviewed by The Dartmouth also expressed concern regarding the way "flitzing" or flirting via BlitzMail will change once the new e-mail system is implemented.
"Flitzing is one of the main ways to flirt with boys on campus, so I wonder how it will work with the new program," Renee Domozych '12 said.
Although "flitzing" may no longer be possible, students will likely use the Microsoft program for many of the same reasons they currently use BlitzMail, according to Carissa King '12.
"I mean [BlitzMail] is definitely part of the culture, but I'm sure [Microsoft] will probably work the same way," she said. "If there is a directory of names in the e-mail system, people will still be able to contact each other even if they don't know their full names."
Students who support the change to Microsoft said that personal e-mailing should only be one component of a larger college communication system.
"People want to be able to say Blitz' since its part of Dartmouth, but a program like this should be so much more than e-mail it's also about information," Rufful said.
