What is electronic mail?
Most people are familiar with the operation of ordinary mail. I write a letter, address it and deposit it with the postal service for delivery. Along with many other items it is sorted and transported towards its destination until it is deposited in a mail box corresponding to the address on the package. Ultimately it is collected from the mail box and read.
Electronic mail works in a similar fashion. I write a letter on my computer, address it appropriately and send it to another computer to which my computer connects. The message is passed from computer to computer until it is deposited on the computer corresponding to the address. Eventually the person to whom it was addressed will connect to the computer which stores his/her mail and collect and read the message.
This system of message delivery by means of ‘store and forward’ can work on a local network or across the global Internet. It is one of the most basic services on the Internet and can be extremely useful as a means of communication. Advantages include speed of delivery which can be almost instantaneous and the capacity to work without both parties being available simultaneously.
Internet email depends uses protocols (agreed methods of doing things) such as Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and Post Office Protocol (POP) to enable the various computers to pass messages. The computers which handle mail are referred to as servers.
Email addresses
Ordinary mail is conventionally addressed with the name of the recipient, a street or post office box number and other location information such as name of city, postal code and country. Electronic mail uses a similar pattern which is of the general form
username@host.domain
‘username’ identifies the individual person (or mailbox) to which the message is addressed. It may be some variant of the actual name of the person such as ‘smith’, ‘smithj’, ‘J.Smith’, or ‘John.Smith’. Alternatively it may be some coded identifier which is recorded in the system as belonging to the person but which has no obvious connection. In the case of schools registered through USQ the identifier is some abbreviated form of the school name.
‘@’ is the conventional separator between the personal identifier and the identifier of the computer where the message is stored for collection.
‘host’ is the name of the computer on which mail is held for collection. This name is separated from the remainder of the address by a fullstop. The name of the mail host or server for school accounts at USQ is ‘mail’
‘domain’ describes the section of the Internet in which the computer is located and may consist of several components separated by fullstops. The sections are arranged similarly to the final parts of a conventional address. The domain for schools connected to USQ is ‘schools.usq.edu.au’ which identifies the address as belonging to a school connected through USQ which is an educational establishment in Australia.
Using Netscape for Email
Versions of Netscape since 2.0 have included an electronic mail client. Users who are familiar with the Netscape browser find it convenient to use the mailer which is contained in the same program.
Configuring Netscape
Before you can use Netscape to send or receive electronic mail there are some configurations which must be set. The examples here will assume use of the schools service at USQ but if you are using another service it is only the details which change.
The configuration panels are reached by selecting the Mail and News Preferences item from the Options menu.
Composition settings
It is a good idea to activate the checkbox to have outgoing messages copied to a file. That way you have a record of the messages you send. Messages will be kept in a folder named Sent Mail which will be placed in the location indicated or selected in the panel.
Server settings
For use with the USQ schools service both the SMTP and POP server should be set to mail.schools.usq.edu.au
The POP user ID should be set to the login name of the school or other use.
Checking the radio button to remove mail from the server will reduce ensure that old messages do not keep re-appearing.
The news server should be set to news.usq.edu.au
Identity settings
Your Name may be set to the personal name of the user or the school name.
Both Your Email and Reply-to address should be set to the correct email address for the school or other user. If your school login ID is myschool, then the email address will be myschool@mail.schools.usq.edu.au
Working with email
The Netscape mailer uses a separate window which can be opened by selecting Mail window from the Window menu. In addition to a new window opening you will notice some changes to the items in the menu.
A set of buttons across the top of the window gives speedy access to functions such as checking for new mail (Get Mail), sending new messages or dealing with existing messages by deleting, replying or forwarding to another address.
The window has three panes - one for the folders used to organise messages into groups, one for a list of messages in the selected folder and one for the text of the selected message. The relative sizes of the panes can be adjusted by dragging the dividers between them.
The folder list includes information about the number of messages contained and how many remain unread. The message list includes subject, sender and date/time data as well as an indication of which are unread. The message window displays the text of the message and header information which identifies its origin and subject.
Sending email
In some respects it may make more sense to look first at reading mail since it is likely that when the Netscape mail window is first opened there will be a message present - possibly the standard welcome message from the publishers. However, beginning with sending mail has the advantage that it allows an immediate test of the configuration.
To send mail using Netscape, begin by clicking on the To: Mail button in the mail window to open a composition windo
The subject is optional but it helps to identify a message and many people dislike receiving mail without subject headings.
Enter the email address(es) of the intended recipient in the Mail To: line. The Cc: line can be used for the address(es) of anyone to whom a courtesy copy is to be sent.
Type in the body of the message. If a signature file has been created and specified in the configuration panels its contents will be inserted automatically.
Click on the SendNow button when the message is ready to go.
Sending a message to your own address is a good way to make sure that everything is working. Try that before sending messages to anyone else.
The Attach button is used to select and include one or more files from your local system to be sent with a message.
Reading email
Reading email is simpler than sending it since it is just a matter of selecting a message from the list and reading the contents which appear in the bottom pane of the mail window.
Use the Get Mail button periodically to refresh the list. Netscape can be configured to check periodically (default is 10 minutes) for new mail and will notify you with a flashing envelope.
Replying and forwarding
There are three buttons, other than delete, which can be used to deal with a received message. Re: Mail will send a reply to the address from which the message came. Re: All will send a reply to the originating address and to all other recipients. Forward will enable the message to be passed on to another address. The first two buttons will insert the appropriate addresses automatically although it is always wise to check for accuracy. The Forward button will require you to enter an address.
In each case a window will open as for sending a message but depending upon how Netscape is configured it may include the contents of the received message with markers, conventionally '>', to indicate sections quoted from the origina
Enter the required text and send the message.
Organising email
Once you start to send and receive any amount of email it pays to take some simple steps to keep it organised.
Folders
The folders which appear in the top left pane of the mail window represent files in which old messages can be stored. New folders can be created with names chosen to give the organisation you require.
Messages are moved from folder to folder by dragging and dropping.
Address book
The address book exists to allow users to keep email addresses in a convenient location and to enable messages to be easily addressed by selecting from a list of names which are comprehensible to humans rather than trying to remember email addresses which are designed for machines
The base entries in the book are for individuals but additional entries may be made to refer to groups. Individual addresses are added to groups by dragging and dropping. If a new address is to be added or an existing one is to be changed a special window is opened from the Items menu
A nickname is just a shorthand way of referring to an address. The nickname can be typed into the address space when composing a message and will be substituted with the correct email address on sending.
The Name will appear in the address book list and the Email address will be used to ensure delivery.
Obtaining addresses
There is no universal directory of email addresses available on the Internet and finding the address of another person may involve considerable detective work.
There are some notable email directories available on the World Wide Web, for example, Four Eleven (http://www.four11.com/) and Who? Where? (http://www.whowhere.com/).
Searching for names on the World Wide Web will often turn up web pages that contain the necessary address.
If you know where a person is located or the name of their Internet service provider (ISP) you can try writing to the postmaster@wherever and asking for assistance.
If all else fails, telephone the person and ask for their email address.
Mailing lists
What is a mailing list?
Mailing lists provide for electronic discussion among a group with shared interests. Sending to a list results in your message being passed onto all the members of the list.
Locating lists
There are places on the WWW where you can find lists of mailing lists. A good starting point for teachers is The Aussie School House Communities page (http://www.ash.org.au/comm.htm).
A new list &emdash; sq-teach &emdash;has recently been established as a place for teachers in Southern Queensland to discuss issues of mutual interest and support each other.
Subscribing and unsubscribing
You must subscribe to (and unsubscribe from) a list by sending a message to the computer program that manages the list.
To join sq-teach you send a message to
Majordomo@usq.edu.au
The message should contain a single line with the word ‘subscribe’ and the name of the list. For sq-teach you would send
subscribe sq-teach
You will be subscribed with the email address from which you send the message so you must ensure that your address is recorded correctly in your configuration.
Your subscription will be confirmed by an email message welcoming you to the list and including basic instructions on how to use the list and how to unsubscribe.
Participating in a list
To send a message to the members of the list you address your message to the list rather than to the program which runs it. To send to sq-teach you would address your message to
sq-teach@usq.edu.au