EXPLORING
E-MAIL 
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Electronic mail is an inexpensive, convenient and fast way to communicate with others around the world. It is more efficient than postal mail often referred to as "snail mail". Rather than waiting for a letter to be transported, you can send an electronic message directly to someone's electronic mailbox. When someone sends you e-mail, the message is stored on a network server. You don't have to be using the computer to get mail; the message will be stored and wait for you to log into the system to receive it. You can choose to display and read the mail, print it, delete it, reply to it, forward it or save it.
A computer requires some type of software (instructions) in order to do this. We use Microsoft Exchange on our network here at school. To help organize mail, you have several containers with this system including:
Inbox – contains copies of all incoming mail, whether read or not. A message that has not been read is listed in bold print and parentheses (2) show the number of unread messages in your container.
Outbox – contains copies of mail being sent. On our system an outgoing message sits there for only a fraction of a second.
Sent Items – contains copies all messages you have sent to others.
Deleted Items – contains all messages (from any container) that you
have deleted. It is important to note that these deleted items are erased for good
once the program is closed. This is probably not true with your e-mail
system at home—you are required to erase them yourself.
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Features:
Address book: An address book can keep the e-mail address of your friends so you do not have to remember them. You can also create address groups to send the same message out to a group of individuals. This is how I send a message to all 6th graders or everyone in Period 1. Remember to get permission to use any of the school distribution groups and be sure someone wants to be part of a group you may set up.
Attachment: allows a file, such as a document, graphic, sound or video clip, or program to travel along with an e-mail message. It is important to remember that the person receiving the attachment must have the proper software on their computer in order to view it.
Carbon copy: sends a copy of the message to another user.
Delete: allows you to erase a message.
Forward: allows you to send a message originally sent to you, to another person. It is polite to erase previous messages if unnecessary.
Print: allows you to print a message; remember to choose a printer on our network.
Reply: allows you to answer a message sent to you. If you include part of the original message in your message, this is called quoting. Quoting is necessary to help refer the reader back to his/her original message, but is frowned upon if not necessary.
Reply to all: allows you to reply to the sender along with all others who received the message.
Return receipt: sends a message back to you when the recipient opens your message so you know it was read.
Personal Folders: can be created to help you store and organize your mail.
Public Folders: an area where you can collect public (posted
for all to see) messages such as sports facility directions or teacher
assignments.
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Addressing Internet E-mail:
An e-mail address defines the location of an individual's mailbox on the Internet. An address consists of two parts: the user name and the domain, separated with the at @ sign, such as:
billg@microsoft.com
callajud@ berkeleyprep.org
usatoday@clark.net
president@whitehouse.gov
admiral@navy.mil
student@georgetown.edu
The user name is the name of the person's account and the domain name is the location of the person's account. Periods (.) separate the various parts of the domain. The last few letters in an address usually indicate the type of organization and/or country to which the person belongs. In the example of my address (callajud@berkeleyprep.org), the user name is callajud, the domain is berkeleyprep.org, and the last three letters stand for organization, as Berkeley is a non-profit organization.
gov
- government
edu - education
com - commercial
mil - military
net - network
org - organization
au - Australia
jp - Japan
The
best way to find out someone's e-mail address is to ask them; but to help find
addresses; the Web offers several people
search tools.
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Checking BPS e-mail from home:
If
you log on to our Web site at http://www.berkeleyprep.org/exchange/logon.asp,
you can enter Outlook software to check mail on your school account.
Simple enter your login name and complete the dialogue box that appears to
allow you into our system. Since the software is Outlook rather than
Exchange, the screen will look a bit different from what you see when you are
logged in at school.
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Netiquette (Rules of conduct and behavior)
Use
your best manners in e-mail. Be polite and consider whether your words
might be hurtful to others.
Try to keep e-mail short and to the point.
Avoid capitalizing every word. This is considered
SHOUTING.
Watch the tone of your message. Remember
someone reading your message can't see your facial expressions to know if you
are joking.
Find more netiquette
information here or here.
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Other Tips
Use emoticons or smileys to express emotions in messages. They represent faces if you turn them sideways, such as: :-) smile :-( frown ;-) wink :-D laugh ;-O surprise
Find more smileys at http://www.netlingo.com/smiley.cfm
Abbreviations or acronyms are commonly used to save typing time such as FAQ -- frequently asked questions, IMO-- in my opinion, FYI – for your information
Flames are angry or insulting messages; avoid these. It is all too easy to flame someone since electronic communications, is more impersonal than speaking directly to someone.
Join a mailing lists
if you would like to share information with people interesting in the same
thing as you, join a mailing list by subscribing, just as you would to a
magazine. You will receive messages sent by anyone on the list.
This is a great way to ask questions, help others, or have discussions on
specific topics. It is easy to unsubscribe when you feel the need.
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Be Cautious:
Spam or junk mail can come to you without request. Do not spam others with meaningless messages. Do not disclose your e-mail address without knowing how it will be used. Beware of schemes that offer something for nothing. Do not reply to spammers; simply erase their messages.
Chain letters generate messages quickly and tie up computer time for more important work. Please do not forward chain letters on your school account.
Viruses can be
transferred through e-mail. Not by the text in the message itself, but
through attachments. Never open attachments if you do not know the sender.
Even attachments sent by friends might contain a virus. Our network has a
virus checker to help avoid this problem. It is wise for your home
computer to have one, too. New viruses, however, are always being
developed and viruses are always a threat to our computers. If you open
and run a program that is infected, the virus will be released and the damage
will begin. Be extra cautious about attachments with .exe or .com
extensions. Never open these on our network.
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J. Callahan
Berkeley Preparatory School
Updated August 2000