I want to set up an exception in the silent profile so I'm notified if I receive an email from certain people, but so far I can only get it to work for phone calls.

Also, what tone is used for exceptions to the silent profile? Does it use the silent tones? Do the tones have to be set for something other than mute?

I've only been using a Blackberry for a couple weeks, so I'm still learning.

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For custom alerts from contacts: How can I personalize my alerts from specific contacts? - BlackBerryFAQ

The silent profile mutes all alerts, unless you costomize those.

Good luck.

Whatever you set up in the exception.