We explain what email is, how it works and what its advantages are. In addition, its characteristics and parts that compose it.
E-mail or electronic mail is a means of written communication through a device connected to the Internet , and that, in a similar way to the letters and postcards of yesteryear, allows the deferred sending of a text between two or more interlocutors.
E-mail was the standard form of communication among Internet users , especially in terms of the transmission of information (attached files), at least until the appearance of instant messaging and telecommunications 2.0, which relegated it to more of a work or corporate environment.
Currently , an estimated 144 billion emails are sent daily around the world.
Although it became overcrowded with the arrival of the Internet , email is prior to it. It was used for the first time free of charge in 1971 , although since 1965 there was the possibility of electronically sending data between one computer and another using a local network.
It is estimated that in 1977 it was already the standard information exchange mechanism worldwide in certain communities.
The operation is simple: user A writes a letter to user B in which he tells him something he wants to share, and incidentally includes some pertinent photographs that he hosts on his computer. User B receives the letter and downloads the photos to his own computer, where he can see them as many times as he wants. You can then write a letter in response to User A, returning your impressions and, if you wish, any accompanying material that you consider. This process can be repeated as many times as you wish.
The advantages of email over other written communication formats are several:
The disadvantages of email compared to other messaging mechanisms are:
The common parts of an email are:
Just as postal mail uses postal addresses to send a letter to a friend in another city , electronic mail uses electronic “addresses”, which are nothing more than an identifying name of the user , accompanied by an at sign (@) and the name of the company that offers said user its messaging service. Thus: LuisMiguelPereira@hotmail.com.
In this case, the user's address contains his "name" (it does not necessarily have to be real or consistent), then an at sign and then the name of Hotmail, the company that provides mail services.
There are thousands of these and they are usually all free, so you just have to fill out a subscription and choose a valid email address (not used by another user or does not contain garbled characters). Then a password will be chosen and a personal mailbox can be created.
However, since 2014 the companies that provide this service require from their users a minimum of official information , such as a verifiable phone number.
The main email companies in the world are three:
Many mail service companies are in the uncomfortable position of deciding between violating the confidentiality of their customers' information, often requested by governments or by various forms of investigation , or denying key information for various social and political scenarios that it might have. dangerous consequences.
Email services provide users with various levels of organization of their mailboxes , with labeling, folder classification, custom signatures, and even autoresponder options.
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