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Internet Basics: E-Mail

Setting Up: To make your e-mail program work effectively, you'll need to spend some time setting up your preferences or arranging the options you prefer.

Your Internet service provider will give you the names for your SMTP and POP mail servers, but you'll need to enter your login user id and your password (you can usually tell your browser to save the password so you won't have to type it in every time). These specifications must be typed in exactly right for your e-mail program to work. Likewise, if you are browsing on someone else's machine, don't check or read their mail. Unless you have access to web-based email services (I have a free service like this that's affiliated with ZZN that lets you access a web-based account or your own POP account from any machine via a web browser) an increasingly popular option, you normally cannot get your mail without reconfiguring their e-mail options to your own, so it gets a little complicated.

You can also fill in your return e-mail address and the name of your company organization if you like, and you can reference a signature file, which is nothing more than a small text file appended at the bottom of each e-mail message you send out. A signature is not required, but can be helpful. In these preferences you will also tell the program how often to check your mail, how to organize your mail, whether to save copies of the messages you save, and other options. Another option you'll want to check is MIME-compliant, which gives your e-mail program more file options (otherwise it's just text).

I have seen many people make unsuccessful attempts at sending e-mail to someone only to discover they had inaccurately typed in the recipient's e-mail address or had not properly configured their e-mail preferences. Take some time to set up frequently used addresses in your program's address book. (Use the right mouse button in Netscape to automatically enter the person's e-mail address into your address book while you're reading their message.) Use the re:mail button to reply to a message you're reading and the e-mail address and subject will be accurately and automatically entered for you.

Parts of an e-mail message: E-mail messages always have a header, and you can configure your program to display all header information, minimal header information, or typical header information. The header usually includes the to: and from: addresses, a subject and any cc: , forwards or attachments. It is helpful if you always list a subject in your message. Many people group their mail by subject thread, and if you click the "reply to" button while reading their message your e-mail message will already have their reply-to address and subject pre-inserted.

Your e-mail address will be determined by your Internet provider but it typically is:

youruserid@yourserviceprovider.domain

Attaching URLs and files: You can send someone another Web page by providing its URL or a file or program on your local computer (especially nice for sending relatives a photo of the kids, etc., as long as the files are compressed and aren't too big. Long unannounced E-mail downloads are not welcome and some mail servers won't accept attachments above a certain size. To attach a file, you usually click on the paper clip icon (or click the command attach file), then you browse within your computer windows to select the file you want to send. That file is then uploaded to your e-mail server with your e-mail message and later downloaded by the message recipient. Text files from most any word processing program are usually always viewable if you save them first as plain ASCII text. Otherwise, your recipient may not have the appropriate program or file translator to view the file. When in doubt, cut and paste the text into your e-mail message or check to be sure your recipient can view the file type you send.

Some e-mail programs and mail gateways recognize only text, thus any binary file (images and other nontext items) may need to be encoded or translated into bits. UULite and UUEncode are two such programs.

Joining a listserv: There are many mailing lists available for most any topic you can think of. Joining a mailing list of this type can be extremely helpful if you are seeking specific information, but the files can quickly add up if you are on too many lists or on a too-active list. Be sure to unsubscribe or turn off your listserv if you go on vacation. Leaving many e-mail messages on your host server won't please them any and is also discourteous to others on the network. Many listservs have vacation command options.

I have been off and on numerous mailing lists over the years, finding them valuable time-savers when a problem arises because as we all know, there is nothing really new under the sun and somebody somewhere has probably already had the problem you are experiencing. I am always amazed at how willing to share most of the people on lists are. It restores my faith in humanity each time one of them comes to somebody's aid. If you're not on a list yet, you're missing out on an opportunity to make valuable acquaintances and perhaps even meet kindred spirits. As always, remember you don't really know who you are talking to so use caution.

One of my favorite lists is called the Missouri Mafia list for graduates of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. This list gives me a warm fuzzy feeling and put me back in touch with some people I hadn't had contact with in years. Maybe your alma mater has one, too!

I set up a Majordomo (the name of a popular freeware email list program) list on my server for the Heartland Writers Guild. It allows scattered group members to keep in touch easily and makes it a breeze to send out news and information to the entire group at once.

Here are some places you can go on the Web to find out about available listservs:

Be sure you pay strict attention to the commands necessary for joining a listserv or unsubscribing to a listserv. You typically will also receive a FAQ that you should read before you post to the list. It's also a good idea to "lurk" awhile to find out how best to fit in the discussion.

Typically, lists will have several requests from the uninformed who post messages to the group asking "Please remove me from this list." But their request doesn't serve any purpose other than to irritate the readers of the list. To unsubscribe to most lists, you typically send a message with no text to the list administrator with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject header. Many listservs are similar but all will tell you their specific commands.

c. 1996-99 Julie Wolpers, Poplar Bluff, Mo. Made with Macintosh