E-MAIL

Definition:-
A sender (person) uses a mail agent (program) to compose a message, which contains the
e-mail addresses of several recipients. The agent passes the message to a transport service
for delivery to the mailboxes of the recipients, who each use their own agents to read the e-
mail.

- David Alex Lamb; Electronic Mail: The Basics, 1999.

History:-
W ho invented email? Electronic mail is a natural and perhaps inevitable use of
networked communication technology that developed along with the evolution of the Internet. Indeed,
message exchange in one form or another has existed from the early days of timesharing computers.
Network capable email was developed for the ARPANET shortly after its creation, and has now evolved
into the powerful email technology that is the most widely used application on the Internet today. Key
events and milestones in the invention of email are described below:

 Timesharing computers. With the development in the early 1960's of timesharing

computers that could run more than one program at once, many research organizations wrote
programs to exchange text messages and even real-time chat among users at different
terminals. As is often the case, more than one person at the same time noticed that it was a
natural use of a new technology to extend human communications. However, these early
systems were limited to use by the group of people using one computer.

 SNDMSG & READMAIL. In the early 1970's, Ray Tomlinson was working on a small team
developing the TENEX operating system, with local email programs called SNDMSG and
READMAIL. In late 1971, Tomlinson created the first ARPANET email application when he
updated SNDMSG by adding a program called CPYNET capable of copying files over the
network, and informed his colleagues by sending them an email using the new program with
instructions on how to use it.

To extend the addressing to the network, Tomlinson chose the "commercial at" symbol to
combine the user and host names, providing the naturally meaningful notation "user@host" that
is the standard for email addressing today. These early programs had simple functionality and
were command line driven, but established the basic transactional model that still defines the
technology -- email gets sent to someone's mailbox.

 MAIL & MLFL. In 1972, the commands MAIL and MLFL were added to the FTP program (RFC
385) to provide standard network transport capabilities for email transmission. FTP sent a
separate copy of each email to each recipient, and provided the standard ARPANET email
functionality until the early 1980's when the more efficient SMTP protocol was created. Among
other improvements, SMTP enabled sending a single message to a domain with more than one
addressee, after which the local server would locally copy the message to each recipient.
 RD. The Director of ARPA, Steve Lukasik, asked Lawrence Roberts, then the director of the
IPTO, to improve on READMAIL, which required messages to be read in order, and with no
ability to save or reply. Roberts wrote RD in one three-day weekend as a collection of macros in
the Tenex text editor TECO (Text Editor and Corrector), and called the program called RD.

The new program included capabilities to sort email headers by subject and date, giving users
the ability to order the messages in their Inbox, and to read, save, and delete messages in the
order they wished. In a sign of the pragmatism associated with much of the email development
over the years, RD was developed not as a research effort, but as a practical effort to solve a
real-world problem of email management.

 NRD. The DARPA researcher Barry Wessler improved on RD, and called the new program NRD,
including several new usability features.

 WRD / BANANARD. Marty Yonke recoded SNDMSG and NRD into an independent program
called WRD. This was the first program to integrate reading, sending, and a user-friendly help
system in the same application, and was later renamed BANANARD.

 MSG. John Vittal improved on BANANARD and called the new program MSG, with powerful
features like message forwarding, a configurable interface, and an Answer command that
automatically created properly addressed replies. MSG can fairly be called the first modern
email program.

Dave Crocker (see MS below) feels the Answer command was revolutionary: "My subjective
sense was that propagation of MSG resulted in an exponential explosion of email use, over
roughly a 6-month period. The simplistic explanation is that people could now close the
Shannon-Weaver communication loop with a single, simple command, rather than having to
formulate each new message. In other words, email moved from the sending of independent
messages into having a conversation."

 MS / MH. In 1975, the DARPA program manager Steve Walker initiated a project at RAND to
develop an MSG-like email capability for the Unix operating system. The project was undertaken
by Dave Farber, professor at the University of California at Irvine. Dave Crocker, starting
graduate school at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School, designed the
functional specifications, and Steve Tepper and Bill Crosby did the programming.

The resulting system supported multiple user interfaces, from the basic Unix email command to
the MSG interface, and was called MS. Crocker comments: "The program was very powerful,
and very, very slow." A follow-on project at RAND rebuilt the program to take more advantage
of the Unix system environment, breaking the commands out into individual programs that ran
in individual Unix shells. Bruce Borden did most of the programming, and named the resulting
application MH as an abbreviation of Mail Handler. Since 1982, Marshall Rose and others have
upgraded and maintained MH, and it has become the standard email application for the Unix
environment.

 RFC 733. In 1977, Crocker, John Vittal, Kenneth Pogran, and D. Austin Henderson
collaborated on a DARPA initiative to collect various email data formats into a single, coherent
specification, resulting in RFC 733.

The specification combined existing documentation with a bit of innovation, and was the first
RFC explicitly declared an Internet standard in order to try and bring some order to the various
email formats in use across the ARPANET -- an effort not initially greeted with universal
approval among the independent, distributed research community. In 1982, Crocker revised
RFC 733 to produce RFC 822, which was the first standard to describe the syntax of domain
names.

 MMDF. In 1978, Crocker followed Dave Farber to the University of Delaware, where they took
on a project for the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) to develop a capability to relay email
over dial-up telephone lines for sites that couldn't connect directly to the ARPANET. Crocker
created the first version of what would become the Multi-purpose Memo Distribution Facility
(MMDF) in six months of work, and then set up and operated an experimental relay site at the
 University of Delaware for various AMC sites.

The MMDF link-level protocol was developed by Ed Szurkowski. Several others worked on the
software after Crocker left, including Doug Kingston, Craig Partridge, and Steve Kille,
developing enhancement such as creation of a robust TCP/IP layer. Kille adapted the software
to support the ISO/CCITT OSI X.400 email standard, one of the first systems to do so, naming
the software "PP" after "Postman Pat", British vernacular for the local postal delivery person.
MMDF was also deployed to provide the initial email relay capability for the CSNET.

 Send mail. In the early 1980's, email relaying was also being performed using the simple
UUCP technology at the University of California at Berkeley, where the BSD Unix operating
system was developed. Eric Allman later created a program called deliver mail to cobble
together multiple email transport services, creating, in effect, a switch rather than an integrated
email store-and-forward capability. Allman then built on this experience to create the send mail
program, which was distributed with BSD Unix, and has gone on to become the the most
commonly used SMTP server on the Internet.

 Commercial Email. In 1988, Vinton Cerf arranged for the connection of MCI Mail to the
NSFNET through the Corporation for the National Research Initiative (CNRI) for "experimental
use", providing the first sanctioned commercial use of the Internet. Shortly thereafter, in 1989,
the CompuServe mail system also connected to the NSFNET, through the Ohio State University
network.

 Online Services. In 1993, the large network service providers America Online and Delphi
started to connect their proprietary email systems to the Internet, beginning the large scale
adoption of Internet email as a global standard.

Types of email accounts:-

Email is one of the most used features of the web. With this technology you can not only
send text messages but also digital files such as images, audio, video etc. attached with the email
message. There is little or no cost in sending an email and the best part - it's almost instantaneous!
This article tells you about the different types of email accounts available with examples and a brief
description for each. Get to know more about your email account.
Classifying anything in the world is not that straightforward because there can be more than one
criteria to do so. To categorise different email types, it is doubly difficult because there are
innumerable criteria - storage space, access technology, free/paid, usability etc. Since this article is not
a technical treatise but rather a guide for beginners, let me attempt to list the different types of email
accounts based on how they can be acquired.

Web based email accounts

I'm sure all of you are aware of Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! Mail, right? All these services provide both
web based free email accounts and paid versions of the same with extra features. In fact, many
popular portals offer email services in addition to their core business. A case in point is Zapak.com
which started off primarily as a gaming hub.
Web based email accounts can be accessed using a web browser (yes, the same program that you use
for surf the web) via a graphical user interface (GUI) provided by the email service. You can compose,
reply, send, forward and organize email using this GUI. Most companies allow you to change or modify
this GUI that helps in personalizing or customizing your email account - read Gmail
themes and Hotmail themes for details.
To gain access to your account, you use a web browser to visit the home page of the email service and
enter your login details (username and password). All your email messages and address book (contact
lists) are stored on web servers owned by the respective companies. You need an active internet
connection to log on to your account and check your emails. For instance, the Hotmail sign in page is
located at www.hotmail.com and to login at your Hotmail account you need to enter your full email
address and your password.
You can also download email to your computer from these web based accounts using email
protocols such as POP or IMAP.

Email accounts provided by the ISP

ISPs generally provide an email account for free with the internet connection. If you didn't get one
from your ISP, you should seriously consider shifting to another provider. Anyway, the main advantage
of using an email account provided by the ISP is the support you receive - you can either call the ISP
or refer the extended documentation (usually) provided in their manual. ISPs know that many users
would be new to the web and so have helpful and patient staff to help troubleshoot problems. This is in
direct contrast to web based email service providers such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! Mail where,
unless you take the paid version, the support is sadly missing. However, there is one major drawback
in having your ISP account as your primary email address for online correspondence. If you change
your service provider or shift to a new location where your old ISP has no service, you might lose the
email address; else you have to keep paying for it.
ISPs also provide a web based GUI for you to access your email account via a web browser.
Additionally, you can use an email client or email program to download the emails directly to your
computer and read them without an active internet connection. There are several popular, most of
them for free, and you probably already have one on your computer - refer the article on downloading
email on Windows to know more.

Web site email accounts

Do you own a web site? Depending on your hosting package, you can create email accounts on the
web site for yourself or your staff. Most web hosting companies let you access emails through a web
based interface or download the messages using email programs such asOutlook Express, Windows
Mail, Windows Live Mail, Thunderbird, Apple Mail etc. For more information, please check with your
web hosting company or the people who developed your web site.

Email accounts from institutions, schools, colleges etc.

You can even get a email account from your institution or school. You, typically, need to contact the IT
department and the process may be lengthy, requiring you to fill a few forms, or your email address
will be created by default the day you become part of the organization. I would not suggest using this
email account as your primary online address. It's good for internal purposes and that's it! Why?
Because you would have to let go of it once you leave the institution or the school.

Email account from your company

If you work in a medium-sized or a large company they would probably have their own email servers.
Generally, you get your own email address a few days after joining the company. This would be your
business email ID and I advise you to keep personal correspondence away from it (especially
messages from head hunters ;-). Company email addresses have many strings attached so be wary of
how and what you use it for.
Effective Uses of E-mail
E-mail is revolutionizing the art and science of direct marketing by bringing marketers
new opportunities and challenges.

Try these attention-getting ideas to make the most of your e-mail marketing:

1) Sponsor a contest. Give away prizes in order to entice prospects. The gift doesn't have to be
large or expensive, although trips and cash tend to draw the most attention.
2) Publish an online newsletter. Develop a newsletter about your business or a related topic that
will interest the people with whom you want to do business.
3) Publicize special promotions or events. If you are promoting a new product, hold an open
house or participate in a trade show or cobranded campaign. Use your mailing list to publicize it.
4) Drive traffic to your Web site. E-mail, direct mail, and advertising all have a stimulating
effect on your company's Web site. Use your mailing lists to get the word out.
5) Make new product or personnel announcements and press releases. Got a hot new
service? Product upgrade? Did you hire a new sales manager? Moving to a new location or changing
your phone number? Mailing lists are the perfect way to distribute this type of information. Give
your customers advance notice of what's coming, and let the trade press know what's happening.
6) Offer discounts. Everybody loves a bargain, and you can use your mailing list to alert customers
and prospects to your latest deals. When the discount is offered exclusively to the mailing list, you
communicate the feeling that your customers receive special privileges.
7) Solicit surveys. Mailing lists are an easy way to solicit participants for a survey and to
communicate survey results. Send out the questions. Tally up the responses. Report back the results.
Readers appreciate having their voices heard.
8) Care for customers. Stay in touch with clients, cheaply and quickly. Thank them for their
business. Ask their opinions about your service, your products, your Web site. "What can we be
doing better to ___________?" You may not like everything you hear, but creating a dialogue builds
loyalty and trust.
9) Encourage participation in government, civic, and community projects. Publicize
issues and meetings, and solicit public support at hearings before commissions and boards, city
councils, and industry associations.
Advantages of email:
The benefits of e-mail are huge in number.

Easy to use: E-mail frees us from the tedious task of managing data of daily use. It helps us to
manage our contacts, send mails quickly, maintain our mail history, store the required information,
etc.

Speed: The e-mail is delivered instantly, anywhere across the globe. No other service matches the e-
mail in terms of speed.

Easy to prioritize: Since the mails have subject lines, it is easy to prioritize them and ignore unwanted
mails.

Reliable and secure: Constant efforts are being taken to improve the security in electronic mails. Thus
making it one of the secured ways of communication.

Informal and conversational: The language used in e-mails is generally simple and thus makes the
communication informal. Sending and receiving e-mails takes less time, so it can be used as a tool for
interaction.

Easier for reference: When one needs to reply to a mail, there is a provision in the mailing system to
attach the previous mails as references. This refreshes the recipient's knowledge, on what he is
reading.

Automated e-mails: It is possible to send automated e-mails using special programs like the auto
responders. The autoresponders reply back to the sender with generalized pre-written text messages.

Environment friendly: Postal mails use paper as a medium to send letters. Electronic mail thus, saves
a lot of trees from being axed. It also saves fuel needed in transportation.

Use of graphics: Colorful greeting cards and interesting pictures can be sent through e-mails. This
adds value to the e-mail service.

Advertising tool: Many individuals and companies are using e-mails to advertise their products,
services, etc.
Disadvantages of Email
the e-mails, though beneficial in our day-to-day life, has got its own drawbacks that are off late coming
to the fore.

Viruses: These are computer programs having the potential to harm a computer system.
These programs copy themselves and further infect the computer. The recipient needs to scan
the mails, as viruses are transmitted through them and have the potential to harm computer
systems.

Spam: E-mails when used to send unsolicited messages and unwanted advertisements create
nuisance and is termed as Spam. Checking and deleting these unwanted mails can
unnecessarily consume a lot of time, and it has become necessary to block or filter the
unwanted e-mails by means of spam filters. Spamming includes, sending hoax e-mails. E-mail
spoofing is another common practice, used for spamming. Spoofing involves deceiving the
recipient by altering the e-mail headers or the addresses from which the mail is sent.

Hacking: The act of breaking into computer security is termed as hacking. After the e-mail is
sent and before it is received by the desired recipient, it "bounces" between servers located in
different parts of the world. Hence, the e-mail can be hacked by a professional hacker.

Misinterpretation: One has to be careful while posting any kind of content through an e-mail.
If typed in a hurry, the matter could be misinterpreted.

Lengthy mails: If the mail is too long and not properly presented the reader may lose
interest in reading it.

Not suitable for business: Since the content posted via e-mails is considered informal,
there is a chance of business documents going unnoticed. Thus, urgent transactions and
especially those requiring signatures are not managed through e-mails.

Crowded inbox: Over a period of time, the e-mail inbox may get crowded with mails. It
becomes difficult for the user to manage such a huge chunk of mails.

Need to check the inbox regularly: In order to be updated, one has to check his e-mail
account regularly.

Every new technology enters the social world with its share of benefits and drawbacks. Different people
interpret and utilize it in different ways. In order to make the most of the available technology, users
should try to understand both, the positive and negative sides of the tool they use. No technology can
be totally perfect!