Most users presume that they can send an attachment to an email of any size. Storage is cheap these days, so it makes sense. However, the technology has limits. Specifically, there is a limit to the amount of space the individual servers will allows. Email messages travel in a chain from one email transport to another – ultimately arriving at their destination. If the size of the message exceeds the size allowed by one of those machines, then it probably won’t make it to its destination. This is a technical limitation that prevents overloading that server with too much email.

If your Church has it’s own eMail server, then you’ll want to set clear policies on the size of an attachment. You want to be reasonable with your staff’s needs. If they really want to send video clips around, then you should probably up the limit to match what YouTube allows – i.e. 15 minutes. But if they just want to exchange MS Office documents, the limit could be around 16 MB. Check to see how people want to use eMail.

If you use an outside service for eMail messaging, then you have to follow their policies. This can vary all over the map, but you want to educate your staff and members about this limitation. Otherwise, you’ll get a lot of support calls about eMail messages that for some reason didn’t go through. And we’re not just talking about SPAM filters here.

Having files attached to eMail messages is a useful service. It can make communication more effective by keeping a working set of files together. However, if you’re going to edit the files heavily, then you may want to consider setting up a virtual space for collaboration. For example, you can make a drop box for sharing and editing photos.