E-mail Words

abbreviations

Abbreviations help streamline e-mail communication -- and make it a bit more fun. A variety of standard e-mail and chat abbreviations have emerged.

account

An e-mail account is the arrangement you've made with an ISP or network administrator in which space is allocated on a server for your mail, and in which you're assigned the right to send and received e-mail. Some people have more than one e-mail account, with each account having its own e-mail address. For example, a person might have one e-mail account on their company's network, and another account with an ISP for their personal e-mail needs.

Your e-mail program may allow you to send and receive mail from more than one account. If this is the case, you'll need to set up each account individually within your e-mail program.

actions

Actions are e-mail program scripts that automatically perform certain operations when messages that meet a set of specified criteria are received. Such operations may include the automatic filing of messages from a particular sender into the desired folder, automated replies, and so on. Some programs call actions "scripts."

address

Your e-mail address identifies the hard disk space set aside by your ISP or network administrator for the storage of any e-mail you may receive. This area is typically referred to as a mailbox, and each mailbox is assigned a unique address. When someone wishes to send you a message, they send it to this address, and the message is directed over the Internet to your mailbox.

All e-mail addresses share the same three components, arranged in a row:

Therefore, if, for example, your user name is "georgette," with an ISP named "imaginary.com," your e-mail address would be georgette@imaginary.com.

When you address a new message to someone, you can also type in the recipient's real name in quotation marks just in front of his or her e-mail address, though this is not absolutely necessary. Many e-mail programs that offer an address book will do this for you.

address book

An address book is a file in which you can store the e-mail addresses of people to whom you frequently write. When you add a person to your address book, you'll typically enter the person's real name and his or her e-mail address. Many e-mail programs provide an address book feature.

In some e-mail programs, as you type the person's real name in the recipient field of a new message, the program will automatically locate the person's real name and e-mail address and fill it in for you. Some e-mail programs recognize a recipient by nicknames.

alias

An alias is special type of e-mail address that invisibly routes its mail to your actual e-mail address and account. An alias can be a handy way to maintain more than one e-mail identity without having to create a separate account for each. Consult your ISP or network administrator to learn if you can have an alias.

ASCII art

ASCII art is a visual image comprised entirely of ASCII text characters. E-mail signatures sometimes include such artwork. The following is an ASCII art representation of two owls sitting on a branch.

<^. .^> <^. .^>
( ©v© ) ( ©v© )
(/;;;~;;;\) (/;;;~;;;\)
;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;
\;;;;;;/ \;;;;;;/
===!!!!=!!!!===!!!!=!!!!===
UUUU UUUU

attachment

An attachment is a file that accompanies an e-mail message. While a message is always comprised of text characters, an attachment can be any type of file. For example, you might send a message describing your vacation and attach digital photos from the trip. Attachments are sometimes referred to as "enclosures."

When sending an attachment, it's a good idea to use a form of encoding that the recipient's computer and e-mail program can handle, if possible.

attribution line

An attribution line is a text heading that provides information on the origin of a quote contained in a reply. For example, when someone replies to a message they received from you, they may include a quote from your message. Just above the quote, you may see a phrase such as "At 11:48 PM on 3/27/99, you wrote:" An attribution line is intended to help refresh your memory as to the quote's original context.

Some e-mail programs allow you to set up a standard attribution line that includes a placeholder for the name of the quote's author, an identifying pronoun -- as in the example above -- and/or the time and date of the original message. Such programs will automatically insert an appropriate attribution line in any replies you send.

bcc

"bcc" is an abbreviation for "blind carbon copy," a feature offered by many e-mail programs. When you send a someone a blind carbon copy of a message, his or her name does not appear among the recipients listed in the message's header. As a result, you can send someone a copy of a message without letting its other recipients see that you've done so. To send someone a blind carbon copy, enter his or her address in your e-mail program's bcc: field.

body

The actual text of an e-mail message is referred to as its "body."

BTW

A common abbreviation for "by the way."

capitalization

E-mail messages should be typed using upper- and lower-case characters according to the same rules you'd use to type traditional prose. On the Internet, typing entirely in capital letters should be avoided -- THIS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING.

cc

"cc" is an abbreviation of "carbon copy," in reference to the traditional means of sending a secondary copy of a letter to an additional recipient through the use of carbon paper. Your e-mail program may allow you to send copies of a message to secondary recipients by entering their addresses in a cc: field.

It's worth noting that you can also send copies of an e-mail message simply by entering more than a single recipient in the standard Recipient or To: field. The cc: feature, however, allows you to imply that the message is primarily intended for the main recipient(s), and only secondarily to the cc'd recipients. Additionally, anyone using an e-mail program's Reply feature to respond to the message will not find the response automatically addressed to its cc'd readers.

Some programs also offer a bcc -- for "blind carbon copy" -- feature.

compression

Compression reduces the size of attachments so that they will take less time to send and receive. On the PC, the most popular form of compression is called "zipping"; on a Macintosh, it's called "stuffing." Your e-mail program may include built-in compression that you can activate or de-activate.

contacts

Some e-mail programs refer to each entry in your address book as a "contact." You may even see your entire address book referred to as "Contacts."

decoding

Decoding is the process by which attachments are returned to their original form after having been subjected to encoding for transmission over the Internet. If the sender of the file has used a form of decoding appropriate to your computer and e-mail program, the decoding will occur automatically. If this is not the case, you may be able to set up a helper application for this purpose. If you receive a file that needs special decoding, you can sometimes identify the required form of decoding by the three letter extension at the end of the file's name:
If the extension is: the file needs this type of decoding:
.hqx  Binhex 
.uue  UUencode 

distribution list

A distribution list is a list of two or more recipients to whom you'd like to send the same message. If you find that you're frequently sending the same messages to the same group of individuals, create a distribution list containing their names and addresses. This will allow you to simply enter the list's name in the message's recipient field instead of having to enter the name/address of each recipient.

Some e-mail programs refer to a distribution list as a "group."

drafts

Drafts are unfinished messages. Your e-mail program may allow you to store a not-yet-ready-post message as a draft, and may even provide a folder for this purpose. This is a handy feature, since it's often a good idea to make sure that a message really says what you want it to say before you send it, especially when the letter is important or emotionally charged.

The speed with which e-mail can be written and sent can be dangerous: it's not uncommon to find you've sent a message you wish you hadn't sent. If your program offers you the ability to save drafts, take advantage of the feature.

emoticons

Emoticons are ASCII character-based symbols that help clarify e-mail communication. As e-mail has evolved, it's become clear that it's not always obvious when someone is joking or serious -- sarcasm in particular can be hard to discern, and has led to more than a few misunderstandings. An emoticon placed at the end of an ambiguous. Here are some examples:
When you type: It means: When you type: It means:
:-)
Smile
:/
Chagrin
:-(
Frown
:-*
Kiss
;-)
Wink
=:-0
Scared
:D
Laugh
:-p
Sticking out tongue

enclosure

Enclosure is a synonym for "attachment."

encoding

Encoding translates an attachment to a form that eases its transmission over the Internet. When an encoded file is received, it must be decoded. There are a variety of encoding schemes, including MIME, Base 64, UUEncode on the PC, and Binhex on the Macintosh.

export

Some e-mail programs allow you to export your e-mail addresses in a special format, or as a tab-delimited text file. This file can then be imported into another e-mail program should the need arise to do so.

flame

A message in which someone is insulted is called a "flame." A "flame war" occurs when multiple insulting messages are sent back and forth.

find

The Find feature in many e-mail program's can help you locate a particular message you've saved by searching for a word or phrase contained in the message.

folder

A folder is a place within an e-mail program in which you can store e-mail that you've read and that you want to keep. It's a good idea to set up folders for individuals with whom you correspond regularly, and to store the messages you receive from them in their corresponding folders. This will help keep your inbox uncluttered and make it easier for you to locate messages you'd like to re-read. Some e-mail programs refer to folders as "mailboxes."

forward

To forward a message is to receive a message and pass it along to another recipient. Most e-mail programs provide a Forward menu item or button that copies a received message into a new message that you can then address to the desired recipient. Your return address will automatically be copied into the message's From: field.

From:

The From: field in a message tells you who sent you the message. Normally, this will be an individual's e-mail address. Sometimes, however, you'll see the name of a listserve.

group

"Group" is the term used by some e-mail programs to describe a distribution list, and handy feature that simplifies the sending of a message to a group of individuals.

header

A header is the information that appears at the top of an e-mail message, telling you where the message came from. Some e-mail programs allow you to hide a message's header, or view some or all of its contents. A header can be quite informative, since it tells you:

helper application

A helper application is any separate program that assists your e-mail program in the handling of received attachments. Helper applications typically help compress, encode, decode or read attachments.

HTML e-mail

HTML e-mail is a form of e-mail that utilizes HTML -- the language used in the creation of Web pages -- to allow for different type styles, as well as graphics, within your e-mail messages.

If you're not sure that your recipient uses an e-mail program that can read HTML messages, it's safest to set your e-mail program to produce text-only messages. If your e-mail program does not support HTML mail, you may see odd characters or text in received HTML messages: this extraneous stuff is HTML code.

IMAP

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a client/server protocol in which e-mail is received and held for you by your Internet server. You (or your e-mail client) can view just the heading and the sender of the letter and then decide whether to download the mail. You can also create and manipulate folders or mailboxes on the server, delete messages, or search for certain parts or an entire note. IMAP requires continual access to the server during the time that you are working with your mail.

import

Some e-mail programs allow you to import e-mail addresses from other e-mail applications, either in the other application's format, or as a tab-delimited text file. This is useful should you need to switch from one e-mail program to another.

In (box)

An inbox (sometimes called simply "In") is a window in your e-mail program in which incoming mail is stored. Most e-mail programs imitate an office desktop: as on a real-world desktop, you'll also find an outbox for out-going mail (sometimes called "Out").

Most programs use some sort of visual convention that tells you whether you've already read a particular message or not -- unread messages may appear in bold text, or read messages may have a checkmark.

It's a good idea to keep your inbox tidy by filing read mail you'd like to keep into a folder or mailbox, and by deleting messages you have no further use for. Otherwise, the contents of your inbox will get larger and larger, making it harder and harder for you to manage.

LOL

"LOL" is a common abbreviation for "laugh out loud."

mailbox

The word "mailbox" can have either of two meanings when relating to e-mail:

mail server

"Mail server" can have several meanings. It can refer to: Many e-mail programs allow you to choose whether or not received messages on the mail server will be deleted from the server's hard disk once they've been transferred to your computer.

It's a good idea to delete the messages from the server, since most ISPs and networks provide a finite amount of disk space for your messages, and problems can occur if this space becomes filled. On the other hand, leaving messages on your server provides you a backup of your messages should something go wrong with your e-mail program or computer.

Some e-mail programs will let you delete the mail on the server after a specified amount of time -- this is probably the best solution since it allows you to be sure that you've safely received and filed a message before deleting it from the server.

When setting up your e-mail program, you'll need to identify the ISP or network server that receives your mail and the one that sends it, typically two separate servers.

message

"Message" is the e-mail term for a letter.

nickname

Some e-mail programs provide an address book in which you can assign a nickname to a recipient. When addressing a message, you can type the nickname and the program will fill in the rest of the recipient's name and address information for you.

offline

Offline is the state of your computer when it's not currently connected to the Internet. E-mail programs allow you to write and read -- but not send or receive -- e-mail while offline.

online

Online is the state in which your computer is currently connected to the Internet. If you have a dial-up connection to an ISP, you'll need to make activate this connection before being able to send or receive e-mail.

Out (box)

An outbox (sometimes called simply "Out") is a window in your e-mail program in which outgoing mail is stored. As on a real-world desktop, you'll also find an inbox (sometimes called simply "In") for incoming mail.

Your outbox shows you the messages that have been queued for sending.

POP

In e-mail, "POP" stands for "Post Office Protocol." If you have a dial-up connection, when you set up your e-mail program, you'll need to supply the name of your ISP's POP server (technically speaking, it's really your POP3 server). This server receives your e-mail from the Internet and routes it to your ISP mailbox.

priority

A priority ranks a message based on its importance. In some e-mail program's you can prioritize received e-mail using actions or scripts. Some e-mail programs also allow you embed a message's priority in its header so that when a reply is received, the reply will share the assigned priority.

queue

An e-mail program's "queue" feature allows you to hold on to a finished message instead of sending it immediately. If your program supports queuing, it will provide a means of sending all queued messages at once. Some programs can automatically send all queued messages when the program is launched, or before the program closes as you exit it.

quote

A quote is a section of text copied from one message into another. Since users of e-mail tend to send and receive many messages, it's often a good idea to include quotes. Quotes are most helpful when replying to a message, since they provide a context for your comments. A ">" is placed at the beginning of each quoted line in an e-mail message to identify the line as part of a quote. For example, a person might send the following reply to a friend's e-mail message:

>Are you going to the movie tonight?

Yes.

>Do you want to drive?

Oh, no.

This example makes it easy to see the benefit of quoting the original message's questions. Without the quotes, the reply would consist of a baffling:

Yes.

Oh, no.

Each time a quote is copied, an additional ">" is added to the beginning of each line. This allows you to follow at a glance the history of a dialog, or thread. Each line of the most recent quote begins with a ">," while the next most recent quote begins with ">>," and so on. Some e-mail programs can also display quotes in colors that represent how many times they've been copied; this feature makes it even easier to follow a thread's history.

Your e-mail program may also be able to automatically add an attribution line that identifies the source of quoted text.

recipient

The recipient is the individual to whom you're sending a message. In your e-mail program, type the name (optional) and e-mail address of the person to whom you're sending a message in the recipient (or To:) field. If your program offers an address book feature, you may only have to type the person's name or nickname in the field, and the program will fill in the rest of the information for you.

Though e-mail is typically sent from individual to individual, you may encounter a related group of people sharing a single e-mail address, particularly in business. For example, a fictitious company's technical support department might well share the common e-mail address support@imaginary.com.

re-direct

Re-directing messages is similar to forwarding them: you're merely passing an e-mail you've received to someone else. Many e-mail programs offer a Re-direct button or menu item that that copies a received message into a new message that can then be addressed to the desired recipient. The name of the original sender of the message will be inserted into the From: field.

reply

To reply is to respond to a message. Most e-mail programs offer a Reply button or menu item. When you use your program's Reply feature: the program will copy the name and address of the message's sender into a new message's recipient field. It may also copy all of the original message's text, or the currently selected portions of the message's text, into the new message as a quote. You can then add your response to the new message and send it.

retrieve

"Retrieve" is the word some e-mail programs use to describe the process of downloading your messages from an ISP or network mailbox.

ROTFL

ROTFL is a common abbreviation for "rolling on the floor laughing."

rules

"Rules" is a synonym for actions.

scripts

Scripts automatically perform certain operations when messages that meet a set of specified criteria are received. Such operations may include the automatic filing of messages from a particular sender into the desired folder, automated replies, and so on. Some programs call scripts "actions."

signature

A signature is a standardized closing for e-mail messages, typically a favorite quote or piece of ASCII art that follows a message's text and your signed name. Some e-mail programs allow you to set up one or more "signatures."

Once set up, e-mail programs offer you a means if inserting a signature into a message without having to manually re-type it.

To see an example of a signature, click here.

SMTP

SMTP stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol." Most likely, your ISP uses an SMTP server for the sending of outgoing mail. When you set up your e-mail program, you'll need to provide your SMTP server's name or address.

snail mail

"Snail mail" is a mocking term e-mail users employ to describe traditional postal mail. It refers specifically to the relatively great length of time it takes a postal carrier to move a letter from sender to recipient.

spam

Spam is unwanted e-mail, typically sent unsolicited to large numbers of recipients. Most typically, spam is created and sent by companies seeking to increase their business through the use of bulk e-mail programs, but spam can also be sent by an individual. No one likes receiving spam, and it's therefore considered rude to send it. The rule is this: if you're sending unsolicited e-mail to a bunch of people, you're spamming -- stop.

spell-check

Your e-mail program may offer a spell-checking feature that can point out misspelled words in your outgoing message.

subject line

The subject line can be thought of as the message's title. It can be a summary of the message content, a comment on the message, or any other phrase that amuses you. some e-mail programs will prompt you if you attempt to send a message without a subject line. While not mandatory, it's considered polite to include a subject line to help the recipient identify your message.

thread

"Thread" is shorthand for a series of messages that discuss a single topic.

To:

To: is the label used by some e-mail programs in referring to a message's recipient field.

wrap

"Wrap" refers to the automatic truncation of a long line of text in an e-mail message. Some e-mail programs automatically insert a hard carriage return when a line of text in a new or received message exceeds a specified number of characters in length (76 characters is typical). When a message has been forwarded -- and thus re-wrapped by several e-mail programs -- it's not uncommon for it to contain unnecessary carriage returns. Some e-mail programs provide a means of cleaning up such text to restore it to a tidier appearance.