Skip to content
email

File:Evolution_36_mail.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ9158· pop 172· linked from 2,721 articles

Also known as electronic mail, e-mail

thumb|right|This screenshot shows the "Inbox" page of an email client; users can see new emails and take actions, such as reading, deleting, saving, or responding to these messages. thumb|When a "robot" on Wikipedia makes changes to image files, the uploader receives an email about the changes made. Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving digital messages using electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the late–20th century as the digital version of, or counterpart to, mail (hence e- + mail).

AI overview

Email is a method of transmitting and receiving digital messages between people using electronic devices connected to a computer network. It became important as a digital alternative to traditional mail, allowing people to send and receive written messages quickly and easily.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

~39 min read

Encyclopedic overview

42 sections
Contents
  • Terminology
  • History
  • Operation
  • Message format {{anchor|Internet Message Format}}
  • Message header
  • Header fields
  • Message body
  • Content encoding
  • Plain text and HTML
  • Servers and client applications
  • Filename extensions
  • URI scheme mailto
  • Types
  • Web-based email
  • POP3 email servers
  • IMAP email servers
  • MAPI email servers
  • Uses
  • Business and organizational use
  • Email marketing
  • Personal use
  • Personal computer
  • Mobile
  • Declining use among young people
  • Issues
  • Attachment size limitation
  • Information overload
  • Spam
  • Malware
  • Email spoofing
  • Email bombing
  • Privacy concerns
  • Legal contracts
  • Flaming
  • Email bankruptcy
  • Internationalization
  • Tracking of sent mail
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

thumb|right|This screenshot shows the "Inbox" page of an email client; users can see new emails and take actions, such as reading, deleting, saving, or responding to these messages. thumb|When a "robot" on Wikipedia makes changes to image files, the uploader receives an email about the changes made.

Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving digital messages using electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the late–20th century as the digital version of, or counterpart to, mail (hence e- + mail). Email is a ubiquitous and very widely used communication medium; in current use, an email address (commonly local-part + @ + domain name) is often treated as a basic and necessary part of many processes in business, commerce, government, education, entertainment, and other spheres of daily life in most countries.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “email” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (12)