Problem

In GroupWIse, I needed an easy way of managing users who leave, come back, and change departments in an organization with high turnover.

Solution

Without having to buy any "extras," here is the method I use. I have a post office setup for "dead" people. Here's what I do:

1. Move the user's account to this PO.

2. Expire the account and disable logins.

3. Set visibility to "none".

4. Remove all the user's distribution lists.

This PO has no trash emptying, message expiration, or purging of any type, other than when a contents/fix kills a message. It's easy to restore them to another spot or check the contents of the account.

Because I do not have infinite disk space, I permanently remove the account after a certain amount of time, usually 180 days. A "30" version setting on my TSM backup system gives me another 30 days beyond that window.