Trinh definitely has a tricky problem that I would guess quite a few online educators have to deal with as well. I suppose that this is the burden that we all face with regards to the ubiquity and accessibility of numerous communication mediums. I think the best way to manage the overwhelming amount of channels in which to be contacted is to strictly adhere by guidelines set to the students that they can only communicate via specific means. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like there is a great product yet that can manage all the various incoming channels. Although I guess smartphones are doing a pretty good job on the accessibility aspect. Now for the amount of messages Trinh is sent, that seems like the much larger issue. My recommendation would be to hire a non-paid intern assistant. Just kidding. However, it does somewhat address the real issue; Trinh doesn’t have enough time to respond to the amount of messages she receives. One possible alternative to this is to use an online community or discussion board for any official queries and allow (or require) students to be part of the process. Perhaps a question from Student A can easily be answered by Student B. It would be nice for Trinh to offload that work.