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Introduction To Email

Kushi K

Understanding e-Mails

Introduction

Internet users refer to the conventional Mail system as "Snail Mail" sent through the post office. Email stands for electronic mail and is a means of sending messages from one person to another using the Internet. Using emails you can send messages, file attachments, web links, and maintain your address book. In this topic, you learn to identify features of electronic mails(e Mails).

Structure of a mail

Email message has three parts: a header, a message, and attachments (documents or computer readable files). The header consists of the subject of the mail and the email address of the receiver. The user can store and retrieve email addresses from the address book of the mail software. The message is written in the body of the mail.

The header of a typical mail message has the following fields

To: It has the address of the receiver.
CC (Carbon Copy):You can specify one or more addresses in this field.
BCC (Blind Carbon Copy): The other recipients of the mail message cannot see the addresses, which are mentioned in this field. This is especially useful when you need to send some message privately to someone.

How Does Email Work?

Network traffic like your email message is broken up into pieces called "packets "or "datagrams," which have addressing information attached. They are moved through a LAN or the Internet to your recipient by network devices such as routers, bridges and gateways. Sent messages are stored in electronic mailboxes until the recipient fetches them.

How Does Email Addressing Work?

An example of a valid email address is Abc@learning.com. Abc is the "who" that the user is sending mail to. To the right of the @ sign is the "where” portion of the address which indicates the server name to which the email will be send to. If the email address is incorrect, the mails bounce back to the sender of the message.

Features of Email

1. Email is Fast

2. Email is Inexpensive

3. Mutual convenience of the sender and the receiver

4. Easy to Filter

5. Broadcasting

6. File transfer

7. Edit and Correct

In detail about the various features

Email is Fast

Mails can bridge great distances around the world in no time. Because messages are sent electronically it is possible to get a response in a matter of minutes or seconds. No other method of delivery can provide this service.

Email is Inexpensive

E-mail may be sent to other people virtually free of charge. The cost to for email has nothing to do with distance or the size of the message. Most Internet access charges are based on the number of hours per month of Internet usage, or you pay a monthly fee. Compared to telephone calls, faxes, or over night courier service, Email is less expensive.

Mutual convenience of the sender and the receiver

Being able to reach others by E-mail means that you can communicate with them at your mutual convenience. Using email, differences in location and time zone are less of an obstacle to communication. You can send and receive messages as and when you want.
Your message stays on the recipient’s computer until he retrieves it.

Email is Easy to Filter

The subject line on an Email makes it easy to prioritize messages. The reader can identify critical correspondence quickly and dealt with it immediately.

Broadcasting

You can also send the same message to several users at the same time. This is called broadcasting which is a particularly effective way to communicate with a group because you can broadcast a message or document to everyone in the group at once.

File transfer

You should always have the option of having documents delivered instantly over the Internet to your private E-mail box where you can readily convert them into whatever word processing or other common software format you use. Large files or reports and files in unusual formats can be managed as attachments.

Edit and Correct

It can be difficult to express oneself by voice, particularly in situations requiring careful consideration. A written e-mail allows the opportunity for editing and correction before sending. You can now forget about the telephone chase, instead reasonably expect to get a considered response delivered right to your E-mail box within 24 hours.

Disadvantages of emails

Spam
A drawback to E-Mail is mail overflow caused by spamming. On the Internet, junk mail is called Spam which is unsolicited email sent to many people simultaneously. You can receive "junk" email in the same way you receive other types of mail. You may have to take active steps to delete the junk email and stop it from reaching your mailbox.

Email isn't necessarily private

Since messages are passed from one system to another, and sometimes through several systems or networks, there are many opportunities for someone to intercept or read email. Many types of computer systems have protections built in to stop users from reading others' email.

Viruses and malicious attachments

If you get an e-mail with a file attached to it (an executable program such as .exe, .com.) that contains a virus and you download that file and run it, your computer will become infected. Therefore you should be cautious in opening attachments and sending/ receiving mails. Never download and/or run an attached file on an e-mail from a stranger or from an unknown address.

Summary

Mail is the most used computer application. E-Mail is a system for sending and receiving text messages, graphics, sound & videos through your computer. It is basically like sending a letter through the post office; only it is fast, inexpensive and convenient. In this topic, you learnt to identify features of electronic mails (e-Mails).

This article is reprinted with permission from www.WritingCareer.com

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