Introduction to e-mail:
Electronic mail (e-mail) lets you send messages to other
Chebucto Community Net members, and to people anywhere in the world, as long as they have an
e-mail address. You can include text that you have typed and you can also
attach(*) other files such as graphic
images, word processor or spreadsheet files.
E-mail Topics:
What does the address mean?
A basic understanding of Internet email address will make it easier to
comprehend and remember the ones you encounter. Addresses often
give some information about the user, provided you know how to interpret it.
E-mail addresses usually look like this:
rcurrie@computer.ns.ca
The first section, before the @, is the username, (sometimes called a
userID, or user ID) of the person. On Chebucto Community Net, usernames
are a series
of numbers and letters, like aa019. On other systems, the
userID may be some form of the person's name - for example, a user named
Ned Pointsman might have a username npointsman.
The middle section of the address is the @ (at) symbol. Think of an address
as describing someone at someplace.
The third section is the site address, the location of the user account.
This is usually a series of words or abbreviations, separated by periods.
On Chebucto Community Net, this section of the name is
chebucto.ns.ca. Each item is called a domain.
Reading from right to left, each successive domain is more specific than
the previous one. The last item is the top level domain name.
Sometimes this is a country code. ca
stands for Canada. If this address were in England, it would end
with uk, for United Kingdom. This can also indicate the type of
site such as edu (educational), com (commercial), net (network) etc...
To the left are any mid-level domain names, which narrow down the
location. A site may have a number of mid-level domain names, or none at
all.
Finally, is the machine name, the name of the computer being used to
service the account.
In the United States, and sometimes in other countries, a different sort of
addressing is often used. Instead of a top-level domain of .us,
American addresses often use one of several top-level domains describing the
type of organization running the account.
Examples of US domain names:
- .edu = universities and other educational
institutions user@math.harvard.edu
- .com = companies user@apple.com
- .gov = government agencies president@whitehouse.gov
- .org = non-profit organizations user@eff.org
- .mil = military user@pentagon.mil
- .net = agencies which assist in the operation of
the Internet user@sura.net
What if my message doesn't get through?
E-mail addresses have to be entered exactly. A mistake will mean that
the message will be returned to you as undeliverable, in the same way
as the post office returns mail which cannot be delivered. This is
sometimes known as having your mail "bounced." Mail is often returned as
undeliverable due to a mistake in the address, or because of a technical
problem in the network. Check the address and try sending the message again.
How do I find someone's address?
While there are services available on the Internet to help you find
addresses, there is nothing like the phone company's directory
assistance. The best way to find someone's e-mail address is to phone
or write them. If you have a message which someone has sent you, it will
include the sender's e-mail address, so you can reply to it.
Chebucto Community Net has a search capability, allowing you to look up
other Chebucto Community Net users and find their addresses.
This function is
on the "CSuite Services Page" or can be accessed from anywhere with
[go people].
How to forward e-mail
It's easy to forward e-mail to another Internet address. Use the
shortcut command [go forward].
To 'un-forward' your mail use the same procedure but instead of
specifying another address enter 'none' (without the quotes).
And now you are ready to learn the basics of the PINE Email program on
Chebucto Community Net. How do I send
and read mail?
