E-mail is short for electronic mail. Using the Internet, you can send and receive messages to anyone connected to the Internet, anywhere in the world. You can also send and receive messages to anyone who is not on the Internet, but is connected to a mailing service.
To send and receive e-mail, you need an e-mail program installed in your computer. These may come as part of your browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 uses Outlook Express, and Netscape has an e-mail program), or you may need to install the program separately. There are lots and lots of e-mail programs available as free-ware or share-ware.
To run an e-mail program, you need to know four things: your e-mail address, your e-mail password, your incoming mail server and your outgoing mail server.
Your E-Mail Address
Everyone with e-mail has an e-mail address. This works in a similar way to a postal address. It is attached to a message and tells the computer where to send the electronic message.
E-mail addresses look like this: :xxxxx@yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.
The xxxx is the user name (usually run together as one word, username). This is the name the Internet server provider has assigned to your account. An example is emary. Usernames are always written in lower case. It is also called the mailbox name.
The yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy is the domain. This is usually the name of your Internet server provider. It is usually split up by dots, eg @tech2u.com.au.
The last two letters tell you what country your mail is from (or is going to). All countries except America have a two letter code. America has no code. A list of the country codes is available on the Internet. Search on codes or on country codes to find it.
The middle letters tell you about the organisation who has registered this domain. They are called the Zone.
- Some common zones are listed below.
- Com is a company.
- Gov is the government.
- Edu is an educational institution.
- Net is a networking institution.
- Org is for organisations that don't fit into any other category.
Your E-Mail Password
As well as an e-mail address, you will have a password for your e-mail mailbox/account. You need to enter this into your e-mail program before you can see and read your mail.
Your Incoming Mail Server and Your Outgoing Mail Server
Your incoming and outgoing mail will go through a mail server. The incoming mail server is known as a POP3 server (POP stands for Post Office protocol). When you start your e-mail program, the program goes and gets your mail from this computer.
Similarly, your outgoing mail is sent to an outgoing mail server by your e-mail program. This server is called the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server. It sends the mail on to the appropriate e-mail address. This can be the same server as the incoming mail server.