Email



 

How can someone get a Free email account?
Email is faster and easier to use than regular mail services. It's better than conventional mail in the sense that's its instantaneous, addresses are shorter and there is no stamp needed.  Best of all, it can be free to you, and offer more services than your local post office. Below are 5 email services where you can sign up for free and some of the benefits of using each one:

Hotmail - http://www.hotmail.com
Hotmail is owned by Microsoft and people have used it to hack.  Every time you send an email, an advertisment for Hotmail is at the bottom of the page, but it is the biggest place to get free email.  It also allows you to receive free online subscriptions to many daily newspapers and magazines which are emailed to you. At the top of the page, look for the words "New user? Sign up now." Click on the underlined "Sign up now" and fill out the registration forms to sign up and get the email service.

Yahoo! Mail - http://mail.yahoo.com
Yahoo is easy to use, and if you sign up for a Yahoo account, you gain access to Geocities and all other Yahoo services. Like Hotmail, you may also receive free online subscriptions to newspapers and magazines that will be emailed to you. Look for the "I'm a New User: Sign me up!" and click on the blue underlined "Sign me up!" Fill out the requested information to get the service.

Animal House - http://www.animalhouse.com
This homepage is not widely accessed, but it does offer a good email service. Look at the left side of the page, where the menu is located. There will be an icon called "Email." Click there and you will notice a small box opening in front of you. Click on the picture that says "Join Today!" and fill out the forms to sign up for the email service.

NetAddress-http://www.netaddress.com
Netaddress is easy to use e-mail site. This site like Hotmail and Yahoo! allow you to recieve online magizine and newspaper subscriptions. This service also allows you to send greeting cards right from your e-mail browser. This site also has added security if you use public terminals to access it. Just click on the link and look for the "Sign Me Up" icon and begin filling out the information and start recieving your email. 

Mail.com- http://www.mail.com
Mail.com is a uniquely personalized private and secure e-mail service that is a available everywhere.  It is quick and easy to use and it offers 100's email extensions to choose from.  Mail.com also offers news service and other new services.

If you would like to sign up for one of these services, click on the link (the http:// stuff) after the name of the email service and look for each of their sign up icons.


What is email?
Email stands for electronic mail.  It allows a person to send letters, messages, and files to another person with an email address (which works like a regular mailing addresss) using an email service and of course, your computer.


What can you do with email?
Email offers a variety of features, which you can find if you take the time to read through the help and options menus in the particular email service you are using.

Here are a few basics associated with nearly all services, including
how to:

  • Write a message/letter.
  • Send a message/letter to one person or more than one person (called multiple recipients).
  • Read your mail.
  • Reply to a message/letter sent to you.
  • Attach a file (such as an image or program) to your message.
  • File your messages into folders for organization.
  • Use the options of the individual email service.
    •


    Write a message/letter.

  • Look for the little box or icon that says “Compose” or “Write.”
  • Click on the icon, which should bring up another screen where you will write your message.
  • In the area marked “To,” type the email address of the person you wish to send your message to (for example,   bootsmoo@hotmail.com).
  • In the area marked “Subject,” type a title for your messagea short one or two word statement that summarizes what your message is mainly about.
  • You are now ready to write your messageclick on the big white empty box and type out your message.
  • Once you are finished, look for the button/icon marked “Send.” Click it, and your message is sent!
    •
    Go back up to Email Menu
    Send a message/letter to one person or more than one person (called multiple recipients).
     
  • If you wish to send your message out to more than one person (more than one email address) AND you wish for all the people receiving your message to know you have sent it out to more than one person, click on the area marked “Cc.” This will send an exact copy of your message to all email addresses you enter. Make sure to separate each extra email address with a comma (,)(for example, in the “Cc” line: moksha_dawa@yahoo.com, billsmith@hotmail.com, thisemail@rocketmail.com ).
  • If you wish to send your message out to more than one person (more than one email address) AND you do NOT wish for anyone of the people to know you have sent it out to more than one address, click on the area marked “Bcc.” This will still send and exact copy of your message to all the email addresses you entered (separated by the commas), but no one in the list of email addresses will know you have sent it out to more than one address.
    •
    Go back up to Email Menu
    Read your mail.
     
  • After you have logged onto your email service (after typing in your username and password required to use the service), you will come to what is called your “Inbox.” These are all the messages sent to you that have not been filed away (how to file messages in different folders is included farther down in this tutorial page), beginning with the newest, unread messages on top. Usually they will be marked with an arrow or circle, or be in a different color than the other messages. Click on the subject of the email, located after the address of the person who sent you the message. A new screen will come up with the message, usually beginning with a lot of computer information such as the address of the person who sent the email, whether or not they sent the same message out to anyone else using “Cc” or “Bcc,” the date and time the email was sent to you, plus more information usually not of interest to you.
  • Once you have read your message, click the “Back” button on the top of your screen (browser) in the left hand top corner. This will take you back to your Inbox. You may also click any buttons/icons located on your message screen that say “Return to Inbox,” or you may go on to read the next message in your list of messages by clicking on the button/icon labed “Next.”
  • Messages in your Inbox that have been read will look different than the ones you have NOT read, and will generally be at the bottom of your list.
    •
    Go back up to Email Menu
    Reply to a message/letter sent to you.
     
  • Follow the steps above for reading your mail, but do not click on any of the buttons/icons mentioned there.
  • Look for the button/icon labeled “Reply” and click it.
  • This will bring you to the same screen you use for writing messages, explained at the beginning of this tutorial. Depending on what service you use, the “To” area will already be filled with the address of the person you are replying to, as well as the “Subject” line which will automatically begin with “Re:     “ and contain the subject of the message you just read. You might also see that the big box you normally type your messages in is filled with the message of the person who sent you the email you are replying to.
  • If you wish to reply to the message without including the REPLIED message, delete all the text in the big box until it is empty.
  • If you do with to include the replied message, click inside the box at the top left hand corner, then type your message. It would be good to hit the Enter key a few times after your message is finished to separate your message from the one you are replying to and have chosen to include with yours.
  • Click the “Send” button.
    •
    Go back up to Email Menu
    Attach a file (such as an image or program) to your message.
     
  • If you wish to send a file along with your email, a file you have previously saved to your computer,  begin by writing a normal email, following the steps for writing emails explained at the beginning of this tutorial.
  • Look for the “Attach” button/icon on your screen. Click it.
  • Every email service is different and has different steps for attaching files, but generally a box will appear that requires you to click the “Browse” button. Look within your computer’s files and find the one you wish to attach. Click it with your mouse, then click the “Open” button. This will place the file (in something called a file path) on the screen.
  • Remember to click “Send” once you are finished.
    •
    Go back up to Email Menu
    File your messages into folders for organization.
     
  • To file your messages, you will place them in things called “folders” that will contain all the different types of messages you wish to file.
  • You will have to search around for the buttons/icons that allow you to file messages, as every email service is very different with the way they require you file emails.
    •
    Go back up to Email Menu
    Use the options of the individual email service.

        There are no specific steps we can offer for using the options of each separate email servicethey are all different. There are a lot of options offered to you, however, and you would be wise to read through the help files to find out how to do such advanced features like Signatures (which signs all your emails with whatever message you like), Filtering (which allows you to only accept certain kinds of emails), Pop Mail Access (which allows you to have email accounts with more than one email service, but read all your messages through only one account), and General Preferences (which include changing your password, changing the way your Inbox lookslike the colors used, sometimes how to file messages will be located here, what name you want to have attached to your messages when the people you have sent them to get them).  It takes practice and experience to understand how to use the advanced features, so start out with the basics listed in this tutorial and explore on your own how to do the harder stuff.
    Go back up to Email Menu


     
     

    Bibliography

    Project Site, Honors Composition 102, Fall 1999

    Project Site 2, Composition 102, Spring 2000

    ©1999-2000 Clemson University First Year Composition
    Dr. Christine Boese, assistant professor

     

    		 
             
       

     

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