There are many different companies that offer free email accounts. If you pay for the Internet at home, your Internet Service Provider may also offer you an email account. AOL, Comcast, Juno, Earthlink, and NetZero are all examples of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that give their customers email accounts. There are positives and negatives to both free and subscription email accounts. While ISPs can provide more storage space for old emails, you cannot take your email address with you if you decide to change providers. For this reason, it’s a great idea to have an email account independent of your ISP. Here are some of the most popular web-based email providers:
Most email providers are conceptually the same, so even though students in this class may have different providers, the concepts can be applied to various accounts.
Email Vocabulary
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Bounced/Undeliverable message: An email that never reaches the recipient and is sent back with an error message. You can double-check the address and try to resend.
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Compose: Write a new message.
- Forward: Send an existing message (usually from someone else) to another person.
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Inbox: A virtual mailbox where your incoming mail is received.
- Internet Service Provider (ISP) - The company you pay for Internet service at home (if you have a home computer and want the Internet).
- Login/User ID: Your account name (i.e. amber@gmail.com –amber is the login/user ID).
- Netiquette: Commonly accepted practices for communication on the Internet. For example, using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is considered the equivalent to shouting.
- Password: A secret word or phrase used to access your account (i.e. library_nerd79).
- Reply: Respond to an email message. Type above the original message you received.
- Save as Draft: To save an email message in your drafts folder. Does not send which means you can edit and then send.
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Spam: Unsolicited junk mail.
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Strong Password: The measurement of strength a password has to protect the user from security breaches. When choosing a password, pick a combination of letters and numbers that would be difficult to guess.
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Trash: When you delete a message, it is sent to your Trash folder. To get rid of it completely, you must empty trash. | 