Introduction to Internet Resources and Services

Spring '99
#43405 (Tue)
#43400 (Thu)

Class Notes: Electronic Mail

Email Operations and Protocols

• Email is handled by a program called a Mail Transport Agent (MTA).

• Example MTAs: sendmail, qmail, Microsoft Exchange Server.

• Mail is passed between MTAs using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

• The MTA performs final delivery to an incoming mailbox (or folder).

• Email is accessed by a program called a Mail User Agent (MUA).

• Example MUAs: Mail, pine, elm, Eudora, MS Outlook, Netscape Messenger.

• A traditional MUA (such as Mail, pine, elm) runs on the same computer as the MTA.

• Traditional Mail Processing:
  1. Sender composes message with MUA.
  2. Message handed to MTA for delivery.
  3. Message transferred across net to remote MTA.
  4. Message delivered to mailbox.
  5. Recipient reads message with MUA.

• Some MUAs (such as Eudora, MS Outlook, Netscape Messenger) are network clients that may operate on a different computer.

• Most clients use the Post Office Protocol (POP) to access their mailbox. Some use the Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP).

• Most clients use SMTP to transmit mail.

Email Addresses

• Internet email address format: MailboxName@MailboxLocation

• Email address typically are -- but need not be! -- case insensitive.

• Two forms for addresses:
  • From: Chip Rosenthal <chipr@gslis.utexas.edu>

  • From: chipr@gslis.utexas.edu (Chip Rosenthal)

• Addresses may be given as a comma-delimited list.

Email Headers

• Three parts to an email message:
  • headers

  • body

  • envelope - normally not seen

• Example Header:

  From ana@austinfree.net Thu Jan  7 10:29:47 1999
  Received: from austinfree.net by unicom.com with ESMTP id KAA28343
      for <chip@unicom.com>; Thu, 7 Jan 1999 10:29:42 -0600 (CST)
  Received: from austinfree.net by austinfree.net with ESMTP id LAA01803;
      Thu, 7 Jan 1999 11:39:56 GMT
  Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 10:28:08 -0600 (CST)
  From: Ana <ana@austinfree.net>
  Subject: Re: Library concerns
  To: "Christopher O'Connell" <vulpine@pobox.com>,
      john@outer.net (John Neale), chip@unicom.com (Chip Rosenthal)
  Message-ID: <3694E098.F6487FC4@austinfree.net>
  X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.08 [en] (Win95; I)
  

• Timezone Specifications

  Universal Time	UT	-0000	GMT	-0000
  U.S. Eastern	EST	-0500	EDT	-0400
  U.S. Central	CST	-0600	CDT	-0500
  U.S. Mountain	MST	-0700	MDT	-0600
  U.S. Pacific	PST	-0800	PDT	-0700

• Recipient Headers
  • To:

  • Cc:

  • Bcc:

• Originator Headers
  • From:

  • Reply-To:

  • Sender:

  • Return-Path:

  • From_ line

Creating Email

Mailer Features

• Editor/Composer Features
  • Line Wrap

  • Cut and Paste

  • Spell Check

• Signatures

• Aliases, Nicknames, Address Books
  • Making Entries: manual, extracted

  • Types: individual, group

• Folders
  • Outgoing Messages (sent folder)

  • Incoming Messages

  • Folder Management Techniques

• Attachments

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