E-MAIL FAQ If e-mail is new to you, read through these frequently asked questions for some guidance:

What are the parts of my e-mail address? Your e-mail address is your user name (what you sign on with) plus the name of your e- mail provider. Example: If Nancy is my user name and AOL is my online service, then my e-mail would be Nancy@aol.com. What is cc: and bcc:? cc: stands for "carbon copy." bcc: stands for "blind carbon copy." Here is how they work: If I sent an e-mail to my mother I would put her e-mail address in the TO: area. Then I might carbon copy my sister by putting her e-mail address in the CC: area. That way my mother would know that I've also sent the e-mail to my sister and my sister would know what I had sent to my mother. Now it gets sneaky... if I wanted my brother to see the e-mail, but not have my sister or mother know that I have sent it onto him, I would type his e-mail address in the BCC: area. How do I decide what to put in the "subject" area of an e-mail? Subjects should be short and reflect the content of the e-mail. The subject appears for the recipient to prioritize the opening of their e-mail. If your message is very important you might put "Urgent" in the subject. If it is just about dinner plans you might type in "Dinner." Why doesn't my Tab key work while I'm writing an e-mail? While on the Internet the Tab key function changes. It is used to move from one text box to another rather than indenting. If you hit the Tab key by accident and you can't find your cursor, move the mouse arrow to the end of your e-mail text and click to activate that area. Why doesn't my son use capital letters in his e-mails? E-mail is perceived as a "casual" way of communicating, along with being almost instantaneous. This seems to give people license to abbreviate with abandon, not use capital letters and ignore punctuation. I'm sure there are countless English teachers rolling in their graves! What is the coding that appears at the end of the e-mails I receive? Not all e-mail services have "coding" at the end of their e-mails, but if yours does that coding indicates the pathway that the e-mail went on to get to you. Do I need to include my e-mail address in an e-mail I send so they know where to reply? No. Your e-mail address will automatically appear as the sender of the e-mail. It is important to keep in mind that your e-mail address is not anonymous. How fast does an e-mail get sent? This can vary depending on the sender and recipient's e-mail service, but generally it is instantaneous regardless of where you are on the globe. Distance as we know it in miles is not valid on the Internet. It is all about speed of transmission. Is there a directory where I can find someone's e-mail address? At present there is no definitive directory of e-mail addresses. I have tried several web sites that offer to search for e-mail addresses, but I have yet to find a site that can find me. I don't want to receive junk e-mail. How can I prevent it from clogging my inbox? Unfortunately, it is as difficult to limit junk mail in your e-mail inbox as it is to limit junk mail in your "snail mail" box. But, here is a suggestion: I have an e-mail address with the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that connects me to the Internet. (In your case, this could be AOL, MSN, AT&T, or some other Internet Service Provider.) And I have another free web-based e-mail account. There are many web sites that offer free e-mail. Some of the most popular are at www.hotmail.com, www.yahoo.com, and www.mail.com. I give my ISP e-mail address when I shop online and to other merchants assuming that they will send me junk e-mail. I give my web-based e-mail address to friends only. The result is that most junk e-mail arrives in my ISP inbox and, for the most part, only friends write to me at my web-based account. What is "spam"? Spam is unwanted junk e-mail, usually sent to multiple recipients. If you would like to report a "spammer" look at the e-mail they sent you and find their e-mail address, then contact the Network Abuse Clearinghouse at www.abuse.net.

E-mail Netiquette:

It is generally accepted that when composing an e-mail capital letters and punctuation can be ignored. However, for some avid e-mailers, there is a code of conduct that is as rigid as Amy Vanderbilt's rules for entertaining a dignitary. Here are some basic behavior guidelines: