Email Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are just what the name says; a list or file of answers to common questions about a particular subject, usually asked by beginners. FAQs are an extremely valuable resource. They help get you quickly up to speed on a topic without taking up other Internet users' time and resources. Almost all newsgroups, mailing lists, and other special interest groups maintain a FAQ file for new users.

Here, you will find answers to frequently asked questions about email. Check the list of questions to see if your question, or one like it, is among them. If not, use a search engine to track down the information. If you don't know how to use a search engine, click here.

How does e-mail differ from News?
What is a body?
What is a header?
What is cc:?
What is a signature file?
What is an attachment?
What do email addresses look like?
How do I find someone's e-mail address?
What is a mailing list? What is a ListServ?
What should I do if I receive rude or harrasing e-mail?

How does e-mail differ from News?

While there are exceptions, e-mail is traditionally a personal medium. You send correspondance to a specific person and receive mail from that person. Mail is sent out, specifically addressed to one (or several) people. News, however, is a different concept. A message that is posted to a news group is viewable by anyone who chooses to read that newsgroup, really more of a free-for-all approach. E-mail is suited for personal communications, and network news gets its strength for its ability to reach a wide audience.

What is a body?

There are two main parts to an e-mail message, the body and the header. The body is the content of the message, its the reason you are sending the e-mail in the first place.

What is a header?

The header contains internal information about the message, such as who sent it and who the message is addressed to. It also contains the subject of the message, if one has been provided.

There are lots of different types of headers, but most are internal headers that your mail client uses to make sure that the mail is delivered properly.

What is a cc:?

CC: in a header stands for Carbon Copy. CC: is used to send e-mail to a person other than the person in the To: address for informational purposes. Usually, people listed in the To: header are immediately affected by the message, and people listed in the CC: header are receiving the message so they can keep up to date.

What is a signature file?

A file, normally, a couple of lines, containing information such as an email address and a name. The signature is appended to e-mail message, and UseNet postings.

What is an attachment?

An attachment is a file or document that has been attached to the message. An example would be a message that contained a sound file. The receiving person could use a sound player to listen to the attachment. There is almost no limit to the kinds of files you can attach to e-mail messages, however it should be noted that size is a concern. Some mail servers on the Internet will not transfer electronic messages larger than a certain size, this varies from server to server. However, it's usually a safe bet that if you attempt to e-mail a 200 megabyte video file of your last birthday party, a server will refuse to accept it. Also, many clients have problems displaying huge messages.

What do email addresses look like?

There are several address formats, depending on where the person who you want to reach receives their mail, however, all native Internet addresses are of the format username@domainname.

How do I find someone's e-mail address?

There are a number of WWW resources that can be used for finding people on the Internet. These sources generally look for email that had been sent out on the Mailing Lists and network news posts. Many search engines have an option available that looks for email addressess. It looks like this:
Search for information about:    

What is a mailing list? What is a ListServ?

These issues are covered in another FAQ, which you can reach by clicking here.

What should I do if I receive rude or harrasing e-mail?

If you receive e-mail you feel is unwanted or inappropriate, you can report it to the internet service provider of the person or business that sent the e-mail. If, for example, you received e-mail from ripoff@cheesyprovider.com, you could try going to the website www.cheesyprovider.com. There you'll probably find a link to send email to the webmaster.