Electronic mail
allows you to communicate with others over a network. The advantages
of e-mail are instant correspondence with colleagues, access to listserv
discussion groups, and a presence in the global community. There are
many whois directories or white pages for finding a person's e-mail
address. Your Internet Service Provider often will have a directory
of the people with accounts on their system. Generally you can search
for a person by typing in their name. Other systems provide a directory
that is more globally oriented. There is no one directory listing of
all the people on the Internet.
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Domain Name |
Many different types
of e-mail programs allow you to communicate over the Internet. The basic
information you must know is the address of the person for correspondence
and a few commands. Internet addresses are expressed in terms of the
userid (user identification) at the place where the person has an account
called the domain or host. Here is an example of an e-mail address:
userid@domain (also called host)
jdoe@osu.edu
In this example,
the host is edu. It tells you that this is an educational institution.
You can also identify the geographical location of hosts such as the
United States by the extension us.
Common domains:
| com | commercial |
| edu | education |
| gov | government |
| mil | military |
| net | network |
| org | organization |
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Web-based E-Mail Programs |
On the Internet,
you will find several Web-based e-mail programs. When you join one of
these services for free, there may be advertising sent to your address.
Below is a partial listing.
Gaggle Network provides safe, teacher-controlled e-mail accounts for students.
Microsoft Network's email system.
Filtered email for
kids. The system protects children from inappropriate language sent
in email. The email works just like any other email, but all of the
incoming and outgoing mail is scanned by their proprietary filtering
software for inappropriate words or language. If any are found for the
incoming mail, the filtering system replaces the word with {This word
censored by KinderStart}. If the incoming email has more than 3 words
that have to be censored, the email is sent back to the sender without
being delivered.
This is free proprietary e-mail software with a local access numbers.
Check your e-mail using the Web. With this system you can check you email once per week. If you want daily access, you will need to subscribe to Webbox for $5.00 per year. You must already have an email account with an Internet Service Provider.
Free email with spamguard. You can also set up personalized domain addresses.
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Smileys |
When communicating on the Internet, your facial expressions and vocal intonations are not visible or audible. You might say something you think is funny, but the person on the receiving end may not understand. This is where smileys come into play. Smileys or emoticons are typed charachters or icons that help the reader understand the meaning of what you are saying. There are some basic designs as well as more elaborate ones and they are fun to create. In fact, there are smiley dictionaries on the Internet.
Guy Kawasaki's Unofficial Smiley Dictionary
Guy Kawasaki created the first unofficial smily dictionary in 1992 when he published an article about all of the expressions of a "hieroglyphic language" computer addicts were using in their email messages.
Have lots of fun with these colorful icons. Send poscards, download fonts, and play games.
