January 2017 Email Metadata (Information Technology, Massachusetts)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

For all accounts managed by your department, please provide me the following information for all emails sent during January, 2017:

1. From address
2. To address
3. bcc addresses
4. cc addresses
5. Time
6. Date

Please note that I am not requesting the contents of each email.

I am more than happy to provide documentation or tips for extracting this information from your mail server if needed. Documentation that I have available include methods using excel, powershell, msaccess, Office 365 eDiscovery tools, and the direct extraction from an exchange database using forensic analysis tools.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Matt Chapman

Thank you for your email. Could you please let me know how the records would be produced? While I understand that the records are voluminous, the production of the records are likely not as difficult as you may initially think. Please let me know if you would like any documentation, or if you would like any recommendations for reducing the required work.

Thanks -
Matt Chapman
Free Our Info, NFP

Could you provide me with their method for extracting the records responsive to this request? I might be able to offer tips or documentation.

Also, does the IT department have ediscovery tools? Perhaps they could use those, as they come included with most modern email systems' offerings.

Alternatively, would it be possible to reach out to Microsoft directly through your IT contracts? I am almost certain that they can provide methodologies, software, or documentation.

I only suggest the above because other agencies from cities of similar size have been able to fulfill this request with either little, or no difficulty. If I am mistaken in my understanding of the difficulties, I would be very interested in understanding why!

Kindly,
Matt Chapman
Free Our Info, NFP

Could you explain in further detail why it's not possible? Many departments and agencies throughout the US have been successful in completing this request - some of which had over six million.