What is Email?

The Process

Electronic-mail or Email is the process of sending messages electronically using your computer. You can send messages when it is convenient for you - even at 2 am. Your recipient responds at his convenience.

Email can be sent anywhere in the world using your computer and a modem. Email is almost instant in its delivery and it is very cheap to use especially for international messages, costing only the price of the telephone connection to the Internet Service Provider. You may send many messages at one time or just one to a designated location.

Messages can be sent internally on a local area network that might cover a building or an organisation like Northern Institute. For example in this Institute people on all 6 campuses can at no cost exchange email over the computer network that joins all the campuses.

By using email you will be able to electronically

send messages or memos
receive and read messages
reply to messages
forward messages
send the same message to a list of people with one stroke
attach a text file such as a report to your email message
save mail to a file and print the message

Internet

Whilst email is associated with the Internet you do not necessarily have to have an Internet connection to be able to send and receive email. For example many organisations have email facilities within their own local area networks, but do not have Internet links. However usually email is part of your Internet connection and it is one of the most used Internet facilities.

Email Address

In order to receive or send email you need to have an email address and you need to know the address of the person to whom you wish to send a message.

Addresses are made up in a standard way using the following elements:

User identification eg. Maryb your name or a name you wish to choose. It is usual to have part of your own name to make it easily identifiable
the @ or at symbol to locate the person
the domain name of the computer receiving your mail eg. nmit for Northern Melbourne Institute of Tafe
the type of organisation eg. edu for an educational institution or gov for government
and finally au to locate the address in Australia
the final address will look like this:

maryb@nmit.edu.au

You will find variations in addresses, but they will always have these common elements.