Introduction

Electronic Mail has been called the "Killer App" of the Internet. Typically a Killer App is a program (application) that makes buying a computer worth the expense. In this case then, many people feel that Email justifies the cost of an Internet connection. This page provides an overview to resources available to Email users.

A good place to start is the online article, Introducing Email.

To see what it takes to master "Email Basics," an Email checklist is provided. The checklist is independent of any particular email software, instead focusing on the tasks and concepts that are common, although some features may not be available for some email programs and each program will have its own special features. Eudora, Hotmail and browser-based mail are three commonly used email programs. Finally, when we turn our attention to Discussion Lists, people might ask Why Email? as the most commonly used medium. This link supplies some good reasons why Email is such a popular online community building tool.

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Email Software Support

Remember that on screen help is available and that one of the most valuable resources is other people who use the same software!

• Eudora Light Software and Documentation - from the Manufacturers
• Creating Eudora email files on a Windows floppy disk - from the Edtech site at Murdoch University. These notes are for email users who do not have their own personal computer or network account for email. It is also useful for travellers who wish to use a cybercafe.
• Email help
  Whilst targeted at Murdoch University students, many of these help pages are useful for email generally. 

Free email - what's the catch? These notes highlight the pros and cons of "free" email accounts and list some of the available services including the popular HotMail service. These web based mail accounts are FREE and can be ideal for travellers but for regular users there are some downsides.

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Email Tutorials

• LearntheNet's Email tutorial
  This is an excellent tutorial for beginners. The other topics are terrific too.
• Email, Chat and News
  One of the Web Monkey guides from the Hot wired site which explores some of the topics associated with email such as avoiding SPAM, netiquette and web based email.
• First Step Communications
  An excellent collection of articles. The email topics include
  
  A quick and easy reminder system 
  Eight Tips for Your Electronic Business Card 
  How Not To Make A Complete Fool of Yourself With E-Mail 
  Sick of Spam? 
  Spam, Hoaxes, Chain Letters and other Junk Mail 
  Ten E-Mail Time Management Tips 
  Ten Reasons For Writing Vanilla E-Mail 
  Ten Tips for Filing Your E-Mail 
  Ten Tips For Formatting Your E-Mail 
  Ten Tips For Getting Your Point Across In E-Mail 
  Viruses and Hoaxes - Can YOU Tell the Difference? 
  Writing Effective Emails - guest article 

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Email as a writing genre is sometimes a topic of some debate. On discussion lists, some people get very upset about poor standards of spelling, punctuation etc. On the one hand it is argued that email more closely resembles conversation than formal writing and therefore should not be expected to be grammatically correct and free of spelling errors and on the other it is considered to convey a poor image if care is not taken.

Some points in defence of the poor presentation and expression seen in some email messages are:

• many are novices at using the technology and are very slow at the keyboard
  
• people are paying for online time so speed is of the essence
  
• the meaning is what is important so the spelling etc doesn’t matter

All but the most recent email programs have been text only. Strategies such as using smilies, emoticons and various well known acronyms from IRC help to remove some of the blandness and add some emotion.

Dale Spender, in her book Nattering on the Net, raises the question in an historic sense and points out that spelling conventions are a relatively new phenomenon coinciding with typesetting. She suggests that in the future such conventions will take on less importance. According to her, writing for meaning is all that will matter. What do you think?

• The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette, the classic that is cited many times all over the Internet by Arlene Rinaldi. This link will take you straight to netiquette related to mailing lists. The opening page lists other topics.
• Netiquette homepage, by Virginia Sea. This site has an accompanying book and includes an online quiz about netiquette.
• Manners Matter, November 1997 - a Wired Magazine interview by Kevin Kelly with Judith Martin aka as Miss Manners of he Universe
• A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email - This is about making email say what you mean. It gives some really practical hints and tips.
• Showing Emotion - Emoticons - Emoticons (sometimes known as smileys) are text based characters that let you emulate emotion in messages like eg :-) for a smiley face. This link will take you to an extensive set of emoticons.
• Claris eguide - This is a useful resource for those interested in learning some of the intricacies of netiquette. It is very good - not too long and includes a list of emoticons and 3 letter acronyms.
• Internet Dictionary of Terms and Abbreviations

The VECO website includes a page on Rules of Play which includes general netiquette and specific guidelines for VECO online participation.

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Myths and Facts about Email and Viruses

You cannot get a virus by opening an email message. You can however get a virus by opening an attached file that contains a virus. This is one of the reasons why it is considered bad netiquette to send attachments to email lists.

The links below are authoritative sources to check if you receive one of these red alerts.

Alerts:

• CERT coordination centre
  This site publishes information about incidents that impact on the Internet community.
• US Dept of Energies Computer Incident Advisory Centre
  Like many of these authoritative sites this one is very simple in presentation and therefore quick to load.
• The National Computer Security Association
  The NCSA hosts an International reference site for virus warnings. It claims to be the "objective authority in computer network security". A great site but more graphically intensive and therefore slower to load, it is aimed more at network administrators than personal computer users.

Myths and hoaxes:

• Computer Virus hoaxes
  This page claims to be the industry standard information source for new virus hoaxes and false alerts. Hoax warnings are typically scare alerts started by malicious people - and passed on by innocent users who think they are helping the community by spreading the warning.
• Computer Virus myths
  "If someone is clueless about viruses - send them a clue!" - many references to viruses are nothing but Urban Myths and are well documented at this site.
• Urban Legend Hotlist
  - from the Web diggers at The Mining Company.