In response to clients questions regarding E-mail Intertech Country explains all 
about E-Mail

 Electronic mail, or e-mail, is the most frequently used service on the Internet for many reasons:
You can send a message any time, any where and the recipient can read it at his or her convenience.
You can send the same message to several people at the same time
You can save time. E-mail is fast, usually taking no more than a few minutes to be received.
You can e-mail electronic documents and the recipients can then edit and return revised versions.

How E-mail Works on the Internet
 -top

Like a postal address, an e-mail address specifies the destination of an electronic message.
An Internet e-mail address looks like this: user name@domain name
The user name is a unique name that identifies the recipient.
The domain name is the address. Many people can share the same domain name.
E-mail is sent and received through electronic "post offices" known as mail servers.
To read your e-mail, you must retrieve it from the mail server.
Once you enter the address of the recipient, compose your message, and click Send, your e-mail software handles the delivery.
If the message isn't delivered, because of an incorrect address, for example, you typically receive an e-mail message explaining why.

How Reliable Is E-Mail? 
-top 

E-mail reaches the recipient most of the time, but delivery is not guaranteed.
If the message doesn't reach its destination the first time, the mail server sends it again.
If the message is not delivered, you usually receive a message explaining the problem, along with the full text of the original message. You can correct the problem-usually an incorrect e-mail address-and resend it

Using E-mail Software
 -top

Most e-mail programs have many features in common. Once you know one program, you can easily use others.
Launching your e-mail program depends on which software you use. In some cases, you click on the e-mail icon (often an envelope), or the Mail button on the browser toolbar, or choose the Send To option from one of the menus. To write a message, click on the Compose Mail, New Message, or similar button.

In the new message window, type the e-mail addresses of the recipients in the To field, or use the address book (a component of your e-mail program where you can store frequently used e-mail addresses) to select one or more e-mail addresses.

Breakdown of an E-mail Message
-top 

The software you use to send, receive, and manage electronic messages is called an e-mail client. (Most web browsers have with this software.)
To contains the e-mail addresses of the recipients. This is a mandatory entry.
CC, short for Carbon Copy, contains the e-mail addresses for people other than the primary recipients. This is optional.
BCC:, short for Blind Carbon Copy, contains the e-mail addresses of other recipients who receive copies, but their names and addresses are hidden from the other recipients. This is optional.
Subject contains the main topic of the message. Keep this brief. Recipients see this in their summary of incoming e-mails.
Attachment contains the names of files that you may be sending, for example, a word-processing document or a spreadsheet.
Body contains the message itself, which can be of any length.
 

Internet E-mail Addresses
-top

Here is how to interpret the parts of an e-mail address: you@icisp.net.au
You -The user name of the e-mail account holder is a unique, assigned name that can be a real name, initials, a nickname, or a descriptive word such as "information."
@ -The axon sign is required in all Internet e-mail addresses. It allows the e-mail software to distinguish between the user name and the domain name. (This is also called the "AT" sign)
icisp.net.au -The domain name identifies the company or organization of the account holder.

Reading E-mail Messages
-top

When you launch your e-mail program, it usually shows you the messages you have received.
From here you can read, reply to, and manage your e-mail.
Messages are organized in folders or boxes.
Received mail is typically kept in an Inbox;
outgoing mail is stored in an Outbox; sent mail is filed in a Sent box
and discarded mail may be kept in a Deleted Mail box.

To read an e-mail, you typically double-click on the envelope icon or the Subject line of the message. This opens a new window containing the header and body of the message.
To review mail in other folders or boxes, click or (double-click) on the folder. Then click the message that interests you.

 Replying to E-mail Messages
-top

 

After you have read a message, you may decide to reply.
The window with the e-mail you are reading typically has a Reply or Re button. Click on this button to open a new window. The To and Subject lines are automatically filled in with the e-mail address of the sender and the subject of the message.
You might also have a Reply To All or similar button that also opens a new window. In this case, all the addresses in the CC list are included in the To and CC lines.
In some programs, the original message appears automatically. Other programs have a Quote or Include Original Message button. By clicking on this button, the text of the original e-mail appears in the body of the reply, usually marked in a different font or color, or with a special character, such as the greater than sign (>) at the beginning of each line.
You can choose to place your reply before or after the original text.
 

Working Out Error Messages
-top 

If an e-mail is returned to you, most likely it will contain an explanation.
User unknown: The message arrived at the mail server, but the server couldn't find the recipient. Check the user name part of the e-mail address for errors and try sending the message again. Also, double check the domain name to ensure that you are sending it to the right organization.
Host unknown: Your mail server could not find out the server's computer address based on the domain name. Check the domain name in the e-mail address for errors and try again.
Message hasn't been delivered, but will try again. Your mail server failed to deliver the message, but will continue to resend it. This error message indicates a temporary communications problem that may clear up by itself. For example, this message is generated when the recipient's mail server is not functioning or is disconnected from the Internet.

Sending Files As Attachments
-top 

In addition to sending text messages, most e-mail programs allow you to attach word-processing documents, spreadsheets, graphics, audio, video, and other electronic files to your message.
To attach a file:Click on the Attachment or Include File icon, often represented by a paper clip.

This feature is often located on the toolbar or on a pull-down menu.
Locate the file on your computer's hard drive or other storage device from the window that typically opens requesting the name of the file.
Select the file you want from the file attachment window. An icon representing the file may appear in the body of your message, or the name of the file appears in the Attachment line of your message window.

Opening Attachments
-top 

To view an attached file, you can often click on the file icon or save the file to your hard drive, then use the appropriate software application to open it.
Attached files must be decoded. This usually happens automatically.
With some e-mail software, you open or save an attached file by double-clicking on the icon for the file. This typically brings up a dialog box allowing you to decide how you want to process the file.
Should you open an attachment that looks like random characters and symbols, it probably has not been decoded correctly. Alternatively, you may be viewing it with the wrong software application.
Caution: Your computer can contract a virus when you decode an attached file. If you do not know or trust the person who sent the e-mail, delete the attachment to avoid infection.
Intertech Country recommends that use a good Anti-Virus program like AVG (it's free)

Managing Your Messages
-top 

Most e-mail programs have an address book feature where you can record the e-mail addresses and other information of people you contact frequently.
By using the address book,

you won't have to retype an e-mail address each time you want to send a message. This saves time and avoids returned mail due to typing mistakesWith some software, you can store multiple e-mail addresses for each person and additional information, such as a company name, telephone number, and street address.
With most software, you can create a set of e-mail addresses called a group. When you address a message with a group, the message is automatically addressed to all the people in the group. This is sometimes referred to as a mailing list.
As your list grows, use the Search or Find function in the address book to locate an e-mail address based on a person's first or last name.
 

E-mail Etiquette
-top 

To improve the impact of your messages and avoid trouble, there are a few unwritten rules, called netiquette (networking etiquette) you should be aware of:
Clearly summarize your message in the subject line. 
Keep your messages short and focused. Recipients tend to ignore long messages.
Don't write in all CAPITAL LETTERS. Capital letters are used for emphasis, and are considered equivalent to SHOUTING.  Don't write anything you wouldn't say in public. It is easy for the recipients to forward it to others, which could leave you in an embarrassing position if you divulge personal or confidential information.
Include your name at the bottom of a message.