Explore

09. E Mail An Introduction

Self Study

Prepared by: learnloophq@gmail.com

Last edited 10 days ago by Learn LoopHQ.

Chapter: 09. E Mail An Introduction

⁠

E-mail: An Introduction

Welcome to the exciting world of E-mail! In our previous chapter, we learned about the amazing services the Internet provides. Now, get ready to dive deep into one of its most powerful and widely used features: electronic mail, or e-mail. Think of e-mail as a super-fast, global postal system that lets you send messages and more to anyone, anywhere, in an instant!

E-MAIL

An electronic mail, or e-mail, is a way of sending and receiving messages using computers and a communication network like the Internet. It’s not just for messages, though! You can also share documents, pictures, videos, and even program files using e-mail. To use this service, you simply need to register with an e-mail service provider.

Features of E-mail

E-mail comes with many helpful features that make communication easier:

Speed: You can send and receive messages very quickly to anyone around the world.

Attachments: You can easily attach different types of files, such as documents, pictures, and videos, to your e-mails. These are often called MIME type files.

Contact Management: E-mail services allow you to store and organize the e-mail addresses of your friends, family, and other contacts.

Organization: You can organize your e-mails into different categories or topics, making it easy to find what you need.

Clickipedia

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) is an important Internet standard that makes e-mail much more powerful. It was created in 1991 by Bell Communications. Before MIME, e-mails could mostly send only plain text. Thanks to MIME, we can now send exciting attachments like audio, video, images, and various application programs along with our e-mails!

⁠

Advantages of E-Mail

E-mail offers many benefits compared to traditional mail services:

Anytime, Anywhere: You can send an e-mail at any time and from almost any place in the world, as long as you have an internet connection.

Multiple Recipients: An e-mail can be sent to many people all at once, saving you time and effort.

Easy Forwarding: If you receive an e-mail and want to share it with someone else, you can easily forward it without having to type it all again.

Speed: Sending an e-mail is much faster than sending a letter through traditional postal mail.

Automatic Resend: If an e-mail doesn’t reach its destination on the first try, the mail server will automatically attempt to send it again.

Delivery Notification: If, for some reason, an e-mail cannot be delivered, you will receive a notification e-mail explaining why it failed.

Clickipedia

Remember, to send and receive e-mails, you must always have an active Internet connection!

⁠

E-Mail Address

Just like your home needs a unique address for mail delivery, you need an electronic address to send and receive e-mails. This is called an e-mail address. Every e-mail user has a unique e-mail address – no two are exactly alike!

Here are some examples of e-mail addresses:

orangeeducation123@gmail.com

vikas@yahoo.co.in

Even though they might look a bit different depending on the e-mail service, all e-mail addresses follow the same basic structure: a username and a domain name, separated by the @ (pronounced “at”) symbol.

Username: This is the part before the @ symbol. It is unique to each person who sends or receives e-mails.

Domain Name: This is the part after the @ symbol. It is common to everyone using a specific server or network for their e-mail (like gmail.com for Gmail users).

Clickipedia

Did you know that Ray Tomlinson was the first person to send an e-mail across a network? He is also the one who introduced the @ sign to separate the user’s name from the domain name in an e-mail address!

⁠

Creating an E-mail Account

Many websites offer e-mail services for free! Some popular ones include Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail, and Outlook. Gmail is one of the most common and general-purpose free e-mail service providers. You can choose any provider you like.

Here are the basic steps to create a free e-mail account on Gmail:

Step 1: Open your web browser (like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge). In the address bar at the top, type www.gmail.com and then press the Enter key on your keyboard. This will open the Gmail home page.

Step 2: Look for and select the Create account option on the page.

Step 3: Google will ask you if the account is for personal use or business.

If you want to create an e-mail for yourself, click on For my personal use.

If it’s for business, click on For work or my business.

⁠

Step 4: Type your first name and last name (optional) into the fields provided and then click the Next button.

Step 5: Enter your birth date (month, day, year) and gender, then click the Next button.

Step 6: Gmail will suggest some e-mail addresses for you, or you can choose to create your own unique e-mail address. Select an option and click Next.

Step 7: Create a strong password for your new e-mail account. Make sure it’s something you’ll remember but is hard for others to guess. Click Next.

⁠

Clickipedia

A strong password should be at least 8 characters long and include a mix of letters (both uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and special characters (like !, @, #, $). Always remember your password, but don’t share it with anyone!

Step 8: Enter your parent’s mobile number (make sure you get their permission first!). This helps keep your account secure. Click Next. Then, enter the verification code sent to that mobile number and click Next again. You might also be asked to enter a Recovery email address. This is another e-mail address (maybe a parent’s) that can help you get back into your account if you ever forget your password. Click Next after entering it. Review your account information.

Step 9: Read the privacy and terms carefully to understand how your information will be used.

Step 10: Once you’ve read and understood, click on the I agree button to complete the process.

⁠

After completing these steps, the welcome screen of your new Gmail account will appear!

Clickipedia

The mobile number or recovery e-mail address you provide during account creation is very important! It helps you reset your password if you ever forget it, so you don’t get locked out of your account.

Common E-mail Folders

Most e-mail service providers, including Gmail, have a few common folders on their home page to help you manage your e-mails:

Inbox: This is where all the e-mails you receive from others are stored. It’s like your mailbox at home.

Sent: This folder stores copies of all the e-mails you have sent to other people.

Outbox: This folder temporarily holds e-mails that are waiting to be sent. Once an e-mail is successfully sent, it moves from the Outbox to the Sent folder, and the Outbox becomes empty.

Spam / Junk Mail: This special folder is where unwanted incoming e-mails (also known as “Junk Mail”) are stored. This helps keep your main Inbox clean from advertisements or suspicious messages.

Trash: When you delete an e-mail, it’s usually moved to this folder first. E-mails stay in the Trash for a certain period (e.g., 30 days) before being permanently deleted. You can often restore a deleted e-mail from Trash if you change your mind, or you can delete it permanently yourself.

⁠

Composing and Sending an E-mail

Now that you have your e-mail account, let’s learn how to send a message to a friend! First, you’ll need your friend’s e-mail address. Once you have it, follow these steps:

Step 1: On the top left corner of your e-mail window, click on the Compose button. This is usually a prominent button.

Step 2: A new window will pop up on your screen, often called the “New Message” window.

Step 3: The “New Message” window has several important fields you need to fill:

To: In this field, type the e-mail address of the person you want to send the e-mail to. If you want to send it to more than one person, you can type multiple addresses, separating each one with a comma (,).

Cc (Carbon Copy): This field is used when you want to send a copy of the e-mail to someone else, so they are informed that the e-mail was sent to the main recipient in the “To” field. Everyone who receives the e-mail will see the addresses listed in the “To” and “Cc” fields.

⁠

Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy): This field is used when you want to send a copy of the e-mail to someone, but you don’t want the other recipients (those in “To” and “Cc”) to see that this person also received the e-mail. Their address will be hidden from other recipients.

Subject: This is a very important field! Here, you should type a short, one-line introduction that tells the recipient what your e-mail is about. For example, “Hello,” “Meeting Notes,” or “My Birthday Party Invitation.”

Main Body: The large, white area below the “Subject” field is where you type the actual message of your e-mail.

Step 4: After you have finished typing your message and filling in all the necessary fields, click on the Send button. This will send your e-mail on its way to your friend!

Attaching Files: You can also send files along with your e-mail. Look for an Attach files button (often shaped like a paperclip). Click on it, browse your computer to find the file you want to send, and then select it.

Clickipedia

If your file attachments are larger than 25MB, Gmail might not allow them to be sent directly. Instead, Gmail will notify you and offer to upload these large files to an online storage service called Google Drive. Then, it will share a link to that file with your e-mail recipient, so they can still access it.

⁠

Reading an E-Mail

When someone sends you an e-mail, it arrives in your Inbox. The number next to the “Inbox” folder often shows how many unread e-mails you have. Unread e-mails usually appear in bold text, making them easy to spot.

To read an e-mail, simply click on the name of the sender or the subject line of the e-mail you want to open.

⁠

If you see a paperclip icon or a file name below the subject, it means there is an attachment included with the e-mail.

⁠

Logging In

Logging In, also known as login or sign in, is the process of gaining access to your e-mail account. You do this by providing your unique username and the correct password.

You can access your e-mail account anytime by following these steps:

Step 1: Open your preferred Web browser application (e.g., Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox).

Step 2: In the address bar of the browser window, type www.gmail.com and then press the Enter key.

Step 3: On the Gmail sign-in page, you will see a field labeled “Email or phone.” Enter the username part of your e-mail address (e.g., if your e-mail is yourname@gmail.com, just type yourname).

Step 4: Click on the Next button.

⁠

Step 5: You will then see a field labeled “Password.” Enter the password you created for your e-mail account. Then click on the Next button.

Once you’ve entered the correct username and password, all your e-mails will become visible in the Web browser window, and you can start using your account.

Clickipedia

Remember, your Inbox is the main section where all your received e-mails are stored. They stay there until you decide to move them to a different folder (like a custom folder you create) or delete them.

⁠

Logout

It is extremely important to Log out, also known as Sign out, from your e-mail account every time you finish checking your e-mails, especially if you are using a shared computer (like at school or a library).

Why is logging out so important? It prevents others who might use the same computer after you from being able to read your private e-mails or send unwanted e-mails from your account without your permission. It keeps your account secure!

You can sign out from your e-mail account by following these steps:

Step 1: Look for your account name or profile icon (often a circle with your initial or picture) on the top right corner of your browser window. Click on it.

Step 2: A small menu will appear. Look for the Sign out button within this menu and click on it.

⁠

EMOTICONS AND ACRONYMS

When communicating through e-mail, people aren’t usually face-to-face. This means you can’t see their facial expressions or hear their tone of voice, which can make it hard to understand their mood or feelings. To solve this problem, emoticons and acronyms were developed!

Emoticons

Emoticons are special symbols or tiny pictures that represent your facial expressions and help convey your mood. The word “emoticon” is actually a shortened version of “emotion icon.” They not only help express feelings but also save typing time!

Here are some commonly used text-based emoticons:

⁠

Many e-mail and messaging applications also have built-in graphical emoticons (often called emojis) that you can use for different facial expressions and more!

⁠

Clickipedia

The very first two emoticons ever used were introduced by Scott Fahlman. They were :-) to show a smiling face and :-( to show a sad face!

⁠

Acronyms

An acronym is a word formed by taking the initial letters of a multi-word name or phrase. Sometimes, it’s just the first letter of each word, like HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). Other times, it might use more than one letter from some words, like COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language).

The use of acronyms became very popular with the rise of Short Message Service (SMS), or text messaging, where every character counted! Acronyms act like a shorthand for Internet users, helping to save typing time and make communication quicker.

Here are some common acronyms used in Internet communication:

⁠

Chapter Summary: Reb@(t)t

Let’s quickly recap the main points we’ve learned in this chapter about E-mail!

The Internet is a huge computer network that connects hosts (computers) and end systems all over the world.

An electronic mail (e-mail) is a way to exchange messages electronically using a computer and a communication network.

You can easily read an e-mail you’ve received by simply clicking on it in your Inbox.

Emoticons are symbols or icons that represent your facial expressions and help convey your feelings in written communication.

An acronym is a word created from the first letters of a longer multi-word name or phrase, used as a shorthand.

⁠

Want to print your doc?
This is not the way.

Try clicking the ⋯ next to your doc name or using a keyboard shortcut (

CtrlP

) instead.