Back to Upstarts home page

The E-mail Express: Part 1-- Basics

One remarkable feat to come out of the American West in 1860 was the Pony Express. Using horses and riders, it ran day and night, summer and winter, to deliver mail and news between St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Francisco, California. A California newspaper advertised for riders as follows: "Wanted. Young, skinny, wiry fellows. Not over 18. Must be expert riders. Willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred." Mail now took about 10 days to arrive in summer, and 12-16 in winter, as opposed to months by other routes. The Pony Express was the most celebrated means of communication in the country, and it captured the imagination of people all over the world.

Today, we call this 'snail mail,' because the speed of electronic mail (or e-mail) has revolutionized our ways of communicating with each other. E-mail is reliably delivered via the internet, sometimes within seconds, to every corner of the planet (and no one has to risk his/her life in the process!).

Why e-mail?

E-mail is the most popular application used on the internet. Why? Instant gratification. A high-tech, low maintenance form of staying in touch and doing business. You compose and send an e-mail, and sometimes, while you are still sitting at your computer, a response arrives. You write to individuals or groups at the click of a mouse without paper or postage, while easily keeping track of letters you send and receive. You launch words, pictures and even sounds into cyberspace. You reach people all over the world. The experience of communicating effectively in real time becomes positively addictive!

Why do I need an internet provider AND an e-mail program?

To use e-mail, you need an ISP (internet service provider - for example, Netvision, Internet Zahav) and an e-mail program (like Outlook Express).

The ISP connects you to the cyber world. In the area of e-mail, the ISP is the post office, collecting the mail and sending it on to its proper destination. When you join an ISP, it assigns you an e-mail address and a password, and a virtual post office box. You give people your e-mail address, but keep your password secret, as it safeguards the privacy of your mail.

Now someone sends you a letter. The ISP directs the mail to your "box." You check your mail, using a program like Outlook Express, and use your password to unlock the box. The mail is downloaded into your computer.

The post office has finished its job - it has delivered the mail and no longer has access to it. Now you can read your messages, reply, forward them to other people, and save them in folders. Or you can simply throw them away - just as you do with regular mail.

What's in an e-mail?

No matter what e-mail program you use, certain tasks will be basically the same: sending and receiving mail, and organizing correspondence into folders.

Writing and sending a new letter

If you were still working with snail mail, you would take out a pen and a piece of paper and start writing. With e-mail, the same logic applies. You just do it electronically .

    • Open your e-mail program, and click "New" (or "Create Mail," or "Compose," depending on the program). Or you might click a small picture (called an icon) of an envelope. Choosing any of these options will have the same effect: opening a new e-mail message window -- the equivalent of your blank piece of paper.

    • When the window opens, you see a few empty boxes (or fields). Click in one of them with your mouse; now you can type in some text.

    • To: Type the address of the person to whom you are writing. If you were writing to me, you would type aviva@upstarts.net. Note that my e-mail address is all lower case and has no spaces. My name appears first, then the symbol @ (which in Israel has been nicknamed "the strudel") and then my address. You can type in as many addresses as you want; just separate them with a comma or semi-colon.

    • CC: Stands for carbon copy. This function allows you to send a copy of your mail to additional people. The main addressee will see the name and addresses of anyone in the CC: field.

    • Subject: Write a short description of the topic of your e-mail - "My trip to Israel," "Classes start Tuesday."

    • Body: Type away. This is the main part of your letter. When you are finished typing, some e-mail programs will also let you spell check the contents.

Your letter will now look something like this:

Your letter is complete. But instead of having to lick a stamp and walk over to the post office (or find a horse and rider willing to risk his life), just click the "Send" button. Your mail is now flying off into cyberspace and within the time it takes to read this paragraph, will probably already have arrived at its destination.

2. Reading your mail

The best part of e-mail is checking it! Open your e-mail program, and click "Send/Receive" or "Get Mail," and watch as the messages fill your Inbox folder.

Once you have downloaded your mail you can disconnect from the internet and read it at your leisure. It is automatically saved on your computer until you delete it.

3. Responding and Forwarding

  • Reply: You've received a letter from ellen@ home.com. The letter was sent to you and to two other people, Joan and Dan. You want to answer immediately. Simply click the "Reply" button. Automatically, a new message window opens.

  • Look in the To: box: 'ellen@home.com' is already typed there. And the text of the original letter has been reprinted in the reply for easy reference.

  • Reply all: If you click the "Reply All" button, your answer will be sent not only to Ellen but to Joan and Dan as well, that is, to all the recipients of the Ellen's original letter. So make sure to choose the right button when responding. Add your own comments in the body of the e-mail, and click "Send."

  • Forward: You can also forward mail electronically. Let's say Ellen invites me to a meeting and includes all the time and location details in her mail. I don't want to retype all this information but two of my friends, Hannah and David, want to attend as well. I simply click the "Forward" button. A new message window pops up containing the text of Ellen's invitation. I address the mail to Hannah and David, add a note of my own, and send it off.\

4. Organizing your mail in folders

 


E-mail folders appear on the left side of your screen. These folders help you organize your work as you write and respond to e-mail. The standard folders are: Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items. Deleted Items, and Drafts.

If you click the name of a folder, its contents will appear on the right side of the screen.

  • Inbox: Look here for your new messages.

  • Outbox: You may write an e-mail message when you are not connected to the internet. If you click "Send," your messages will be stored in the Outbox. The next time you connect to the Internet, your messages will be sent.

  • Sent Items: Look here for copies of messages that you sent to other people.

  • Deleted Items: Look here for messages that you have deleted. The Deleted Items folder acts as a kind of safety net, allowing you to retrieve messages that you have already "thrown out." If you delete messages stored in THIS folder, they will be permanently erased.

  • Drafts: Look here for partially completed messages that have not yet been sent. \

From snail mail to e-mail, from Pony Express to Outlook Express - now you know the basics.