Electronic Mail

E-mail is a powerful method of communication that connects you with others, in the same office or all over the world for little or no cost once you're connected to the Internet. Below are links to coverage of general e-mail concepts and the most popular software for composing and sending and organizing e-mail messages.

Fundamental Concepts
The basic concepts of e-mail are the same, regardless of how you compose, deliver, or read your messages. Once you understand the basics, you can become an effective e-mail communicator regardless of the software you choose.

E-Mail Addresses

This link provides an excellent, concise discussion of the general concepts of e-mail addresses and leads into a Netscape tutorial.
Windows 95: http://www.open.k12.or.us/jitt/web/manmail.htm#addresses
Macintosh: http://www.open.k12.or.us/jitt/web/macmail.htm#addresses

A Beginner's Guide to Effective E-Mail

A very chatty and opinionated discussion of e-mail that focuses on how to convey meaning, not on the mechanics of any particular software.
http://www.webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html

Top of page

Netscape

Netscape Mail

A step-by-step guide to configuring and using Netscape (3.0) mail, including pictures of the screen that help you identify where to input your information.
Windows 95: http://www.open.k12.or.us/jitt/web/manmail.htm#netmail
Macintosh: http://www.open.k12.or.us/jitt/web/macmail.htm#netmail

Using Netscape Messenger for Email

Netscape's guide to using Netscape for e-mail. http://wp.netscape.com/browsers/using/newusers/messenger/

Top of page

Internet Explorer

E-Mail 101

Get the basics for using Microsoft's Outlook Express with Windows 98 and Internet Explorer.
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows98/usingwindows/communicating/articles/901Jan/Email101.asp

Top of page

Eudora

Eudora is a popular "off-line" mail program that helps eliminate the tendency to write your e-mail when connected, a bad habit which can tie up phone lines and will increase your Internet bill if your provider charges you for the time you spend connected.

It was available before graphical browser mail programs entered the picuture, so many people continue to use it because they know it, although the features are essentially the same as Netcape and Internet Explorer. If you are just learning mail programs, you may want to rely on your browser's program since you'll have one less program to open, learn, configure, and run.

Eudora Pro Online Tutorials

Qualcomm's official Eudora site has tutorials for both Mac and PC versions of Eudora Pro.
http://www.eudora.com/techsupport/tutorials/

Eudora Product Support KnowledgeBase

Scroll to the bottom of the techsupport window for the KnowledgeBase search box. Search for "error message" to see various error messages and what to do about them. Leave the search box empty to see all KnowledgeBase support documents.
http://www.eudora.com/techsupport/

Top of page

Juno

Juno is a commercially sponsored e-mail program for the PC that provides dial-up access from anywhere in the country for sending e-mail. It is free to the user, so it is excellent for home use and for anytime you're on the road.

Juno Home Page

The official Juno home page, with an overview of how the program works, a link for downloading the program, and technical support.
http://www.juno.com/

Top of page

Pine

Odds are you will use one of the above methods for your e-mail. The advantages are numerous . . . a friendly interface to programs which you control and use on your PC, giving you the ability to do the bulk of your e-mail reading and writing while not connected to the Internet.

If you do not have a graphical connection to the Internet or have a monochrome monitor, you may want to consider Pine, a text-based mail program widely available on university UNIX servers and also available for MS Windows and DOS.

Getting Started with Pine 4

A thorough how-to that includes pictures of the main screens you will encounter.
http://www.washington.edu/pine/tutorial.4/index.html

Top of page

Spam (junk e-mail)

Spam, also known as "UCE" or unsolicited commercial e-mail, has long plagued Internet users and clogged resources. Exploits include everything from multilevel marketing and get-rich-quick schemes to ads for phone sex, pornographic Web sites, stock offerings from nonexistent companies, pirated software, and software that collects e-mail addresses for sending spam, plus many noncommercial abuses like chain-letters and hoaxes. A variety of organizations now offer information and solutions to educate and protect yourself against such abuse:

Sneakemail

Sneakemail is a free service you can use to generate disposable e-mail addresses. These "sneak e-mail" addresses are aliases of your real address, which is kept hidden. You can enter these Sneakemail addresses into web forms or use them to contact e-businesses without the risk of your real address being abused or bought and sold.
http://sneakemail.com/

Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (CAUCE)

CAUCE, the preeminent voice of the anti-spam community, is a volunteer grassroots organization founded by Internet users who realized that technology alone can't stop junk e-mail and that legal recourse is essential. The site is designed to provide information about the problems of junk e-mail, solutions proposed, and resources for the Internet community to make informed choices about the issues surrounding junk e-mail.
http://www.cauce.org/

Spambot Beware!

Here you will find information on how to avoid, detect, and harass spambots. Spambots are software programs that scan the Web to extract e-mail addresses, which are then used as targets for spam.
http://www.turnstep.com/Spambot/

Top of page

E-Mail on the Road

E-mail has become almost as ubiquitous as the telephone, but what to do when you're away from your computer? You can set up a free e-mail account at a Web service like Juno, Yahoo, or Hotmail that will allow you to send and receive e-mail from anywhere in the world. Even better, if you use Eudora or MS Outlook (or any other POP3 e-mail program), you can send and receive e-mail via the Web without setting up any other e-mail account.

Mail2web

Mail2web is a free Web site that lets you check the contents of your POP3 e-mail account when you sign in using your e-mail address and password. You can read, reply to, forward, and delete messages and attachments in your inbox. You can send new messages and include attachments, too. Read more about Mail2web.
http://www.mail2web.com/

AOL Anywhere

If you're an AOL member, you can simply go to the AOL Web site, sign in, and check your mail and other AOL stuff.
http://www.aol.com/

Top of page