Electronic mail may well be the most popular applications of online services, and its usage is growing at a phenomenal rate.
Way back in 1994, BIS Strategic Decisions (USA) forecasted over 25 billion email messages for the coming year, more than twice the number for 1992. By one estimate, over a trillion email messages were sent during 1996.
In May 1997, the Electronic Messaging Association (USA) projected that the number of email users would surpass 108 million by the year 2000, and that those users would receive more than 7 trillion messages per year.
If a given email service charges you US$30 per hour, it will cost you a meager US$0.075 to send one typewritten letter (size A-4, or around 2,200 characters). On the Internet, the cost is almost negligible for many users. See Chapter 15 for a breakdown of this cost.
If you live in Norway, and send the letter by ordinary mail to a recipient in Norway, postage alone is US$0.52 (1994). The cost is seven times higher than when using email.
To send the same letter from Norway to the United States by ordinary mail will cost 11 times more than email. The letter takes several days to reach the destination, while email messages arrive almost instantly.
Often, you can send email messages to several recipients in one operation, and without paying extra for the pleasure. Compare with what it costs to send to several parties using fax!
You do not have to buy envelopes and stamps, fold the sheet, put it into the envelope, and bring it to a mailbox. Just let the computer call your favorite email service to send the letter.
The recipient does not have to sit by the computer waiting for your mail. The message will be automatically stored in his electronic mailbox. He can read it when he has time.
The recipient can print it locally. It will be a perfect document, no different to one typed locally. He can correct, make comments, and email it onwards to a third party. In this way several people can work jointly on a report. There is never any need for you to re-type the text from scratch.
When you receive several messages, you can very quickly create replies to them one at the time at your keyboard, and then send them in one go. No need to feed five different pieces of paper into a fax machine or envelopes for five different people.
Where you can find a telephone, you can also read mail. In most countries, communicating by email is easy and economical.
The simple but miraculous thing about email is that you can easily and exactly quote the point to which you are replying. It is truly a revolution in communication.
Some online services have a limit on the size of your mailbox. If you receive a lot of mail, you must regularly read and make room for new. If your mailbox is full, new mail may be rejected without warning. You may never know that a person tried to reach you. Select a service that has room for all your mail!
Many users just "talk" with an email program to send and receive mail. Internet users of programs like Pegasus Mail and Eudora typically compose mail before calling the access service. They click on a "write new mail" icon, enter an email address, a subject, write the text, and click at Send.
When all outgoing messages have been composed, they logon to the Internet. Their mail is sent in one batch, and incoming messages are retrieved. The interaction with the online service is transparent to the user. Simple. Safe. Quick. Cheap. (see Chapter 16 for more on automatic email programs).
CompuServe users of programs like OzWin or TAPCIS do it in a similar way, but they can also do it manually. Other systems require different commands to send email.
The Login host in Oslo (Norway) is a Unix system connected to the Internet. So is The Well in San Francisco. On these systems, mail may be sent using the following type of commands:
Type "mail presno@eunet.no".
When the computer asks for "Subject:," enter "Hello, my friend!" Type your message, or send a pre-prepared text.
When done, enter a period (.) in the beginning of a line, and the message is on its way.
Though the commands for sending email differ between systems, the principle is the same. All systems will ask you for an address, and the text of your message. On some, the address is a code, on others a name (like ODD DE PRESNO). The same applies to the email programs.
Most systems and programs will ask for a Subject title. Many will let you send copies of your mail to other recipients (Cc:).
Some services let you send binary files as email. Binary files contain codes based on the binary numeration system. Such codes are used in computer programs, graphics pictures, compressed spreadsheets, word processed text files, and sound files.
Internet's core network has gateways for electronic mail to systems on many other networks. When we include these systems and their connections, we call it the Matrix, or WorldNet (see Appendix 1 for more).
If you are on the Matrix, you can send email to users on networks like EUnet, JANET, Uninett, BITNET, UUCP, CompuServe, MCI Mail, EcoNet, PeaceNet, ConflicNet, GreenNet, Web, Pegasus, AppleLink, Alternex, Nicarao, UUNET, FredsNaetet, PSI, Usenet, FidoNet and many others. You can send to people using Bergen By Byte in Norway, TWICS in Tokyo, and Colnet in Buenos Aires.
When people talk about this phenomenon, they often refer to it as "Internet mail," even if they are just using the Internet as kind of an advanced telephone exchange.
Let us take a closer look at the art of addressing mail through the Internet and the Matrix.
On the Internet, the general form of a person's email address is:
user-name@somewhere.domain
My main, international Internet mailbox address is:
presno@eunet.no
Read the address from left to right. First, the local name of the mailbox (my name abbreviated). Next, the name of the mailbox system or another identification code (here Login), the name of the institution or company (here EUnet, a Norwegian Internet provider), and finally the country (NO for Norway).
People have sent mail to my mailbox from New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Guatemala, Peru, India, China, Greece, Iceland, and Armenia using this address.
Some of them had to send their mail through a gateway to the Internet, and the address sometimes had to be changed accordingly:
Users of AppleLink use presno@eunet.no@INTERNET# . Those on JANET use presno%login.eunet.no@eanrelay.ac.uk. On SprintMail, use ("RFC-822": <presno(a)login.eunet.no>, SITE:INTERNET) . CompuServe subscribers use INTERNET:presno@eunet.no .
The core of these address formats is "presno@eunet.no," in one way or the other.
We call the core addressing format a Domain Naming System. "LOGIN.EUNET.NO" is a domain. The domain may also contain reference to the name of a company or an organization, like in twics.co.jp, compuserve.com, or IGC.ORG. The CO, COM, and ORG codes identify TWICS, CompuServe and IGC as companies or organizations.
To send mail from the Internet to my CompuServe mailbox, use (do not expect a fast reply!):
75755.1327@compuserve.com
Normally (except on AppleLink), a domain address can only contain one @- character. When an address has to be extended with gateway routing information, replace all @-characters to the LEFT in the address by %- characters. Here is an example:
BITNET uses a different addressing method (USER@SYSTEM). On some Internet systems, you can simply use the address: USER@SYSTEM.BITNET , and the email system will handle the routing for you.
If this method doesn't work, you may use a gateway into BITNET. You may route through CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU by composing an address like this:
USER%SYSTEM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
The rightmost @ in this address is maintained. The one to the LEFT has been replaced with a %. The term ".BITNET" tells the gateway machine where to forward the message.
The following will happen: First, the message will be sent to system CUNYVM at the EDUcation site CUNY. CUNYVM investigates the address, and discovers that the message is for BITNET. It cuts off all text to the right of "USER," and replaces the % with an @. The message is forwarded to the mailbox USER on the BITNET system SYSTEM. Replace USER and SYSTEM with real addressing data.
How to get a personalized domain name?If you're a small business, you may like to have a personalized domain name like the big ones. Microsoft uses microsoft.com, IBM uses ibm.com, HotBot uses hotbot.com, and it sure would be nice to have your own yourname.com. The only problem is the cost...
For cost-efficient ways of getting a personalized domain name, check out the email-for-free services. USA.NET (at http://www.usa.net) is one vendor.
How long does it take a message to get from Hyougo in Japan to Saltrod in Norway? To Dominique Christian in Paris?
Sometimes, mail travels from mailbox service to mailbox service in seconds. This is usually the case with messages from my mailbox in Norway to Dan Wheeler in Ohio (U.S.A.) and Mike Burleigh in London.
Messages that must go through many gateways may take more time. How long it takes, depends on the degree of automation in the mail systems involved, and how these systems have been connected to the global matrix of networks.
Speed is high if the computers are interconnected with fixed, high-capacity lines. This is not so for mail from Oslo to Dominique in Paris. Although the distance is not great, mail is routed through a system in London and is forwarded only once a day through a dial-up connection. It usually takes at least one day to reach the destination.
Once you have learned the basics of Internet mail, it is relatively easy. However, be ready for some glitches and hiccups based on incompatibilities between different email systems and gateways, differences in protocols, clients, etc. While this is not an "Internet problem" by itself, it will look like one.
Returned mail is one of the results. When an email address is incorrect in some way (the system's name is wrong, the domain doesn't exist, whatever), the mail system will bounce (route) the message back to the sender. This will also happen if the receiver's mailbox is full.
The returned message will include the reason for the bounce.
The most common error is addressing mail to a non-existent account name or network address. For example, I have seen many users trying to send mail to LISTSERV@VM1.NODAK.EDU using LISTSERV@VML.NODAK.EDU. When written in lower case letters, it is easy to think that the number "1" in the address is the letter "l". Alas, the result is an error message.
Let us construct an error when sending to LISTSERV@VM1.NODAK.EDU. Send a mail to "pistserv@VM1.NODAK.EDU".
This address is wrong. Below, you will find the full text of the bounced message. It contains much technical information, and most lines have no interest. Also, the message is much larger than the original message, which contained three lines only.
When browsing the bounced message, note that it has three distinct parts: (1) The mailer header of the bounced message itself (here, the 13 first lines), (2) The text of the error report (from line 14 until the line "Original message follows:"), and (3) the mailer header and text of your original message (as received by computer reporting the error):
From MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU Fri Dec 18 12:54:03 1992
Return-Path: <MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU>
Received: from vm1.NoDak.edu by pat.uio.no with SMTP (PP)
id <07610-0@pat.uio.no>; Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:53:54 +0100
Received: from NDSUVM1.BITNET by VM1.NoDak.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2)
with BSMTP id 9295; Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:27 CST
Received: from NDSUVM1.BITNET by NDSUVM1.BITNET (Mailer R2.07)
with BSMTP id 3309; Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:26 CST
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:26 CST
From: Network Mailer <MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU>
To: presno@eunet.no
Subject: mail delivery error
Status: R
Batch SMTP transaction log follows:
220 NDSUVM1.BITNET Columbia MAILER R2.07 BSMTP service ready.
050 HELO NDSUVM1
250 NDSUVM1.BITNET Hello NDSUVM1
050 MAIL FROM:<presno@eunet.no>
250 <presno@eunet.no>... sender OK.
050 RCPT TO:<pistserv@NDSUVM1>
250 <pistserv@NDSUVM1>... recipient OK.
050 DATA
354 Start mail input. End with <crlf>.<crlf>
554-Mail not delivered to some or all recipients:
554 No such local user: PISTSERV
050 QUIT
221 NDSUVM1.BITNET Columbia MAILER BSMTP service done.
Original message follows:
Received: from NDSUVM1 by NDSUVM1.BITNET (Mailer R2.07) with BSMTP id 3308;
Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:25 CST
Received: from pat.uio.no by VM1.NoDak.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with TCP;
Fri, 18 Dec 92 05:53:23 CST
Received: from ulrik.uio.no by pat.uio.no with local-SMTP (PP)
id <07590-0@pat.uio.no>; Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:53:24 +0100
Received: by ulrik.uio.no ; Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:53:18 +0100
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 12:53:18 +0100
From: presno@eunet.no
Message-Id: <9212181153.AAulrik20516@ulrik.uio.no>
To: pistserv@VM1.NODAK.EDU
Subject: test
index kidlink
The first part of the bounced message is usually of no interest. Hidden in the second part, you will find the following interesting line:
554 No such local user: PISTSERV
Ah, a typo!
If your original message was long, you are likely to be pleased by having the complete text returned in the third part of the bounced message. This may allow you to get away with a quick cut and paste, before resending to the corrected address.
The text and codes used in bounced messages vary depending on what type of mailbox system you are using, and the type of system that is bouncing your mail.
Above, MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU returned the full text of my bounced mail. Some systems just send the beginning of your original text, while others (in particular some X.400 systems) just send a short note telling the reason for the bounce.
Note: If you don't understand why a message bounces, contact your local postmaster for help. Send him a copy of the full text of the bounced message up to - and including - the line "Subject:" at the bottom. (There is no need to send him the TEXT of your original message! Just the header information.)
When you write a message to a real person, you are usually free to format the text any way you want. However, not so when the recipient is a computer program, like a LISTSERV, Gophermail, or a World Wide Web by email server.
Example: This book is being updated regularly. Information about where to find the electronic version can be retrieved by sending an email to listserv@listserv.nodak.edu. Put the command "GET TOW.WHERE" in the body of your mail.
Type in this command starting in your mail's line 1, column 1, If the text starts with something else, chances are that you will get an error message rather than the requested information.
Many users access the Internet through gateways from a company's internal mail system, and some of these mailers insist on adding extra information to the text, like in this Swedish example:
Microsoft Mail v3.0 IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note Fr}n: Johan Svensson Till: TOW Ang}ende: Message headers Datum: 1994-07-23 19:39 Prioritet: Brev-ID: FE0257B9 Konversation-ID: FE0257B9
If the mail system's administrator is unable or unwilling to let you send Internet mail without such extra headers, then you have problems. To get around it, check if it is possible to send your message as a file.
On the Internet, electronic messages have a common structure that is common across the network. On some systems, you can reply by using a reply command. If this feature is not available, use the sender's address as given in the mail header.
The bounced message contained two mail headers: the header of my original message (in part three), and the header of the bounced message (in part one).
The 'good' reply address is laid out in the 'From:' header. Thus, this message contains the following two 'good' addresses:
From: Network Mailer <MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU> From: presno@eunet.no
The Network Mailer located the second address line in my original message, and used this address when sending the bounced message.
Note: there is no point in sending a message back to MAILER@VM1.NoDak.EDU since this is the address of an automatic mail handling program. Write to Postmaster@VM1.NoDak.EDU to talk to a "real person" at this computer center.
The exact order of a message's header may vary from system to system, but it will always contain the vital 'From:' line.
Note: Exercise caution when replying to a message sent by a mailing list. If you wish to respond to the author only, make sure that the only address you are replying to is that person's. Do not send it to the entire list!
On some networks, it is outright impossible. On others, you can require that an automatic acknowledgement be returned, when your mail has been received.
On the Internet, users can often have their mailer add the Return-Receipt- To: <sender's email address> line to the mail headers.
Replace "sender's email address" with your real address.
Some mailers allow users to automate this. The final MTA (message transfer agent) will then send a "received" receipt to the specified address.
May services on the Internet will let you do email for free - or almost free - in exchange for the right to put an advertisement on every page you read. Here's a list of some popular providers:
Hotmail (http://www.hotmail.com/), USA.NET (http://netaddress.usa.net/), RocketMail (http://www.rocketmail.com/), Starmail (www.starmail.com), MailCity (http://www.mailcity.com/), Juno (http://www.juno.com/), MailExcite (http://mail.excite.com/), iName (www.iname.com).
They simply let you read your mail using a standard web browser. All you need is a computer hooked to the Internet and access to the web. You may find it at a library, at school, at work, on an airport, an Internet cafe. Anywhere. You get email without having to pay for an account with an Internet Service provider!
The email-for-free services may appear to be the traveller's dream. They let you get to your email while travelling without the hassle of finding a local access point for your Internet provider, or buying from a local service.
An even better solution is MailStart (at http://www.mailstart.com in English, and http://axenet.mailstart.com/ in Portuguese). Like the email-for-free services, everything is done using Web browser. Enter your email address (as in "presno@eunet.no"), and your login password (the one you normally use to get your mail when at home). MailStart will get your mail for you, and let you handle it in a safe way.
The advantage is that you do not have to be concerned about using several email addresses for your mail. The effect is that replies to your mails will go to your main account, and not to an account that you may forget to check for incoming mail later.
"Bang" is American for "exclamation point" (!). The UUCP network uses it in their variation of the domain addressing scheme.
Example: User Jill Small on Econet in San Francisco used to have the address pyramid!cdp!jsmall . Read this address from right to left. The name of her mailbox is to the right. The name of the organization is in the middle. "Pyramid" is the name of the network.
Note: The ! character has a special function on Unix computers. You may have to type the address as pyramid\!cdp\!jsmall to avoid unwanted error messages. The \ character tells Unix to regard the next character as a character, and not as a system command. You can also precede other problematic characters with \ in case of problems.
Some email systems can use bang addresses directly. If your system is unable to handle them, then you must send these messages through a gateway. The American host UUNET is a frequently used gateway. If routing through UUNET, you may write the address like this:
pyramid!cdp!jsmall@uunet.uu.net
If your system refuses to accept exclamation points in addresses, try converting the address into a standard Internet address. Write the address elements in the Internet sequence (left to right). Replace the exclamation points with %-s, like this:
jsmall%cdp%pyramid@uunet.uu.net
This method works most of the time. If it works, use this addressing form. Bang paths may fail if an intermediate site in the path happens to be down. (Most UUCP sites are registering Internet domain names now. This helps lessen the problem of path failures.)
Some messages must be routed through many gateways to reach their destination. This is the longest address that I have used:
hpda!hplabs!hpscdc!hp-lsd.cos.hp.com!oldcolo!dave@uunet.uu.net
It used to be the address of a user in Colorado, U.S.A.. Today, he can be reached using a much shorter address.
If you are on UUCP/EUnet, you may use the following address to send email to Odd de Presno:
eunet.no!presno.
Addressing international electronic mail sometimes looks like black magic. To learn more, read some of the books listed in Appendix 5.
Another source is the conference INFO-NETS (General network forum). Here, the Internet postmasters discuss their addressing problems. Activity is high, and you will learn a lot about the noble art of addressing. (This is not the place to ask for Olav Janssen's Norwegian email address, though. This question should be sent to a Norwegian postmaster.) You can subscribe by email to INFO-NETS-request@NIC.SURFNET.NL.
Hint: You may search the database of old INFO-NETS messages by email to listserv@vm.gmd.de. See "Directories of services and subscribers" below for information about how to search LISTSERV databases.
Many Local Area Networks have been connected to the global Matrix of networks. CompuServe offers a cc:Mail gateway. Lotus cc:Mail is a PC Lan based email system used in corporate, government and other organizations.
When sending from CompuServe Mail to a cc:Mail user through this gateway, a typical address may look like this:
>mhs:pt-support@performa
To send to this user from the Internet through CompuServe's MHS gateway, write the address like this:
pt-support@performa.mhs.compuserve.com
Other vendors of LAN gateways use different addressing methods.
Many online services let you send your messages to millions of fax machines, as telex (to over 1.8 million telex machines), and as ordinary paper mail. We have tested this successfully on CompuServe, MCI Mail and other services.
On CompuServe, replace "Odd de Presno 75755,1327" with "FAX: 4737027111". My fax number is +47 370 27111.
On MCI Mail type "CREATE:". MCI asks for "To:," and you type "Odd de Presno (Fax)." MCI asks for "Country:". You enter "Norway". By "RECIPIENT FAX NO" enter "37027111" (the code for international calls). The country code for Norway, 01147, is added automatically. By "Options?," press ENTER. When MCI Mail asks for more recipients, press ENTER. Type your message, and have it sent.
Some commercial services let you send faxes worldwide from the Internet. Examples: FAXiNET (Email: info@awa.com. Also handles inbound addresses), and InterFax (Email: faxmaster@pan.com).
The FAQ "How can I send a fax from the Internet?" is posted regularly to alt.internet.services, alt.online-service, alt.bbs.internet, alt.answers and news.answers on Usenet. To get the most recent version, check http://www.savetz.com/fax/.
To send a telex, you'll need the recipient's telex number, an answerback code, and the code of the recipient's country. If the message is meant for telex number 871161147, answerback ZETO, and country Russia (country code 871), enter "TLX:871161147 ZETO" when sending from CompuServe.
When the recipient is using your mailbox service, writing addresses is simple. Not so when your email has to be forwarded to mailboxes on other online services through the Internet, X.400, or similar.
A typical inter-system email address consists of a user name, a mailbox system code, and sometimes also routing information. The problem is that there is no universal addressing format. Finding out how to write a given address may be surprisingly difficult.
Some services are not set up for exchange of email with other services.
If your favorite system lets you send mail to other services, make a note about the following:
Example: If you have problems sending email to me at the address presno@eunet.no, then you may succeed by rewriting it as presno%login.eunet.no@listserv.nodak.edu . The message will then go to listserv.nodak.edu, which will turn it into presno@eunet.no and forward it there. (More under Domain Name addressing below.)
It is the lowest common denominator between computers, software, networks, and users.
Example: A user in Norway tried to send the Norwegian language line: "Jeg bor på Karlsøy i Troms, Norge." The text was stored using Windows Latin1. The receiver got: "Jeg bor pe Kalsxy i Troms, Norge." Another user received the word "på" as "p=E5."
If you are using WordPerfect or Word for Windows on an MS-DOS computer, consider storing your text as DOS text before sending.
X.400 is a standard for electronic mail developed by ITU-TSS. It is used on large networks like AT&T Mail, MCI Mail, Sprintnet, GE Information System, Dialcom, and Western Union, and on public and private networks throughout the world.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) uses X.400 as a transport mechanism for coordination of electronic part ordering, stock control and payment. X.400 is used to connect EDI systems between companies and suppliers.
The X.400 addressing syntax is very different from domain addressing. To send a message from an X.400 mailbox to my address (presno@eunet.no), you may have to write it like this:
(C:NO,ADMD:uninett,PRMD:uninett,O:eunet,OU:login,S:presno)
Alas, it's not so standard as the domain addressing schemes. On other X.400 networks, the address must be written in one of the following formats - or in yet other ways:
(C:US,A:Telemail,P:Internet,"RFC-822":<presno(a)login.eunet.no>)
("RFC-822": <presno(a)login.eunet.no>, SITE:INTERNET)
'(C:USA,A:TELEMAIL,P:INTERNET,"RFC-822":<presno<a>login.eunet.no>) DEL'
(site: INTERNET,ID: <presno<a>login.eunet.no>)
"RFC-822=presno(a)login.eunet.no @ GATEWAY]INTERNET/TELEMAIL/US"
S=presno/OU=login/ORG=eunet/P=uninett/C=no
To send from the Internet to a mailbox I once had on a Norwegian X.400 host (Telemax), I had to use this address:
/I=D/G=ODD/S=PRESNO/O=KUD.DATASEKR/@PCMAX.telemax.no
To send from the Internet to Telemail in the US, I have used this:
/PN=TELEMAIL.T.SUPPORT/O=TELENET.MAIL/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@sprint.com
If must route your message through gateways, then complexity increases. One Norwegian UUCP user had to use the following address to get through to me:
nuug!extern.uio.no!"pcmax.telemax.no!/I=D/G=ODD/S=PRESNO/O=KUD.DATASEKR/"
To send from an X.400 system to my CompuServe mailbox, I have used the following address elements:
Country = US
ADMD = CompuServe
PRMD = CSMail
DDA = 75755.1327
The addressing methods used on X.400 systems vary. Example: Some use the code C:USA rather than the ISO country code C:US. MCI Mail uses C:NORWAY, C:USA, and C:SWEDEN.
Here are some important X.400 codes:
C the ISO country code (on most services)
ADMD domain code for public system (abbreviation A)
PRMD domain code for connected private system
(abbreviation P)
O organization name
OU organization unit
S surname (last name)
G given name (first name)
I initials (in the name)
DDA domain-defined attributes, keywords defined and
used by the individual systems to specify mailboxes
(user name, list, station, user code, etc.), direct
delivery devices (attention name, telex addresses,
facsimile, etc.)
PN personal name
(a) the character @ cannot be used when routing messages
from X.400 to Internet. Try (a) instead.
(p) the character % cannot be used when routing messages
from X.400 to Internet. Try (p) instead.
(b) the character ! (used in "bang" addresses).
(q) the character " used in email addresses.
RFC-822 this code tells X.400 that an Internet domain address
follows. Does not work on all X.400 systems.
(See http://info.internet.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc/files/rfc822.txt)
The space character (ascii 032) is a special challenge. Some services let you replace it with an '_' character. If the X.400 gateway supports MIME, you may be able to use the hexadecimal code (=20) as specified in RFC1341 (see "quoted-printable"). If you do, remember to replace the '=' character with =3D, as in '/S=3DPRESNO' (instead of '/S=PRESNO').
Addressing mail from the Internet to/from X.400 is difficult, unless the mailer header of a received message gives the senders address in the proper addressing format.
To set up an email link between an Internet and an X.400 mailbox, start by trying to send an email from either mailbox to the other. If one of them succeeds, then the mailer header of the received message may explain how to send a reply.
Example: This is a typical Internet mailer header on a message received from an X.400 service:
From MSGSUPPORT@smc-tm22.sprint.com Thu Oct 27 02:44:55 1994
Return-Path: <MSGSUPPORT@smc-tm22.sprint.com>
Received: from sprintf.merit.edu (sprint.com) by grida.no with SMTP
id <AA02280>; Thu, 27 Oct 1994 02:44:52 +0100
Received: from sprint.com by sprintf.merit.edu (8.6.5/merit-1.0)
id VAA01624; Wed, 26 Oct 1994 21:45:12 -0400
X400-Received: by mta merit in /PRMD=internet/ADMD=telemail/C=US/;
Relayed; Wed, 26 Oct 1994 21:44:54 -0400
X400-Received: by /ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/; Relayed; Wed, 26 Oct 1994
21:41:29 -0400
Date: Wed, 26 Oct 1994 21:41:29 -0400
X400-Originator: MSGSUPPORT@smc-tm22.sprint.com
X400-Recipients: non-disclosure:;
X400-Mts-Identifier: [/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/;UGJE-6721-7167/27]
X400-Content-Type: P2-1984 (2)
Content-Identifier: VL72373 27
From: MSGSUPPORT@smc-tm22.sprint.com
Message-Id: <UGJE-6721-
7167/27*/S=MSGSUPPORT/O=SMC.MSG.TM22/ADMD=TELEMAIL/C=US/@MHS>
To: PRESNO@GRIDA.NO
Subject: RE: HELP
Here, it is simple. Both the Return-Path line and the From: line have the correct Internet address.
If the mailer header does not contain such information, converting the X.400 addresses into a RFC-822 addresses may well be regarded as a black art. Also, note that you cannot send email from the Internet to all X.400 users on the globe. Some gateways are only accessible from commercial services, like CompuServe and MCI Mail.
For example, continued attempts to send from an Internet mailbox in Norway to an X.400 address in a Nigerian company failed, while mail to/from CompuServe worked well.
The level of online privacy differs by network, service, and application. Whatever these services may claim, always expect that someone, somewhere, can watch, even record.
All mailbox services have at least one person authorized to access your personal mailbox in case of an emergency. Most of the time they do not have a right to read it without your permission, but they can.
In some countries, mailbox services may let outsiders (like the police) routinely read your private email to check for 'illegal' contents. Here, email is not safer than ordinary mail.
The good news is that most 'inspectors' and 'sysops' are good, honest people. On the other hand, it is useful to know your situation.
It is not safe to send sensitive information (like credit card details) by private electronic mail. True, the chance of an outsider getting hold of and take advantage of such information is very small, but it is not safe.
On the Internet, it is child's play for some people to intercept your mail. The typical email message travels through many computers. At each computer, people can access your personal and business correspondence.
However, with so much mail traveling the network, it is highly unlikely that they will, but they can.
Encrypt your email to protect sensitive information. Encryption also guarantees the identity of the sender of a message, a most useful attribute when financial transactions are involved.
The PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software has become the Internet standard for encryption of email and files so snoops cannot read them. Get the current freeware version from http://www.pgp.com.
For more information on encryption, check out the following sources:
http://world.std.com/~franl
http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/Policy/Crypto/
http://www.chem.swin.edu.au/~graeme/pgp.html
Sometimes, we need to be certain that a message was written by the sender quoted in the mail's message header. As it is child's play to send an Internet message carrying other people's return email address and name, you may want to use PGP to make sure the correspondence is authentic.
For this reason, be very skeptical if you ever get a message purportedly from your Internet access provider telling you to change your password to "k00l/d00d!"
Privacy is also a concern when talking in the open. Always assume that someone is recording all that is being said in online conferences, chats, and other interactive social gatherings. In chats, anyone using a personal computer as a terminal can log the conversation, or use screen dump to capture 'interesting parts'.
Many PC users can scroll back the screen. They can wait and decide whether to save the conversation in a file until after the conversation has taken place. With these capabilities widely available, users of chats and talk should always assume that their conversations are being recorded.
Do not say indiscreet things in small, informal discussions. Others may record and repost it under embarrassing circumstances. An unauthorized forward of your private correspondence is extremely easy, and completely outside your control!
Some people routinely use anonymous remailers when sending email to Usenet newsgroups or persons to make sure that the recipient (and snoops) cannot tell their real name or email address. I never use these services, but note that some do as you may be at the receiving end. For more on anonymous mail, check out the alt.privacy.anon-server newsgroup.
For more on privacy, check out ETHICS-L (listserv@vm.marist.edu). The files RFC 1113 through 1115 are about 'Privacy enhancements for Internet electronic mail' (Available from http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc.html)
Usenet has alt.privacy (Privacy issues in cyberspace), alt.security.pgp, comp.society.privacy, comp.security.pgp.announce, comp.security.pgp.tech, comp.security.pgp.discuss, comp.security.pgp.resources, and more.
Data communications is simple - when you master it. Occasionally, however, you WILL lose data. You may even experience the worst of all: losing unread mail on your hard disk.
A while ago, this happened to my sister. She logged on to her mailbox service using the communications program Procomm.
After capturing all her mail, she tried to send a message. For some reason, the computer froze. It was impossible to close the capture file. She had to switch the power OFF/ON to continue. All retrieved mail was obviously lost.
One day, I had a similar experience. After having written a long and difficult letter, something went wrong. The outfile was closed without warning. The resulting file size was 0 bytes.
Both problems were solved by the MS-DOS program CHKDSK run with the /F option. If you ever get this problem, and have an MS-DOS computer, try CHKDSK or Scandisk. They may save your day.
Some day, you may want to send a message anonymously. Internet's Anonymous re-mailers let you do that. For a list of servers and directions, send a message to mg5n+remailers@andrew.cmu.edu. This address automatically responds with a copy of the list.
Check out the alt.privacy.anon-server and alt.anonymous newsgroups for more on anonymous email.
The best method of finding a friend's email address is usually to call your friend and ask. Many people have several mailboxes. Only by asking will you find out which mailbox is being used!
So, you don't know the telephone number? On the Web, try find it by following the links at http://www.contractjobs.com/tel/. This site offers links to online telephone, fax, and business directories around the world.
Sometimes, the information given you by the recipient is not enough. Maybe the address needs an extension for mail to be routed through gateways to the destination.
Another typical problem is that the syntax of the address is wrong. Perhaps you made a mistake, when you wrote it down (KIDCAFE-TOPICS became KIDSCAFE- TOPICS).
The return address in the received messages' mailer headers may be wrong. It may use a syntax that is illegal on your email system, or it may suggest a routing that is unknown to your system. When trying to send mail to this address, the Mailer-Daemon complains: "This is a non-existent address."
Again, the first person to contact for help is your local postmaster. On most Internet hosts this is simple. If you have a mailbox on the ULRIK computer at the University of Oslo, send a request for help to postmaster@ulrik.uio.no . If you are on COLNET in Buenos Aires, send to postmaster@colnetr.edu.ar .
POSTMASTER is also the address to turn to on BITNET. Users of FidoNet or RelayNet, should write to SYSOP.
It may not be that simple to locate the postmaster on UUCP. The postmaster ID may exist on some systems, but often he's just a name or a user code.
There are over 100 other "whois-servers" in more than 15 countries. The systems whois.nic.ad.jp and whois.ripe.net cover Japan and Europe. The rest of them provide information about local users. (A list is available on ftp://sipb.mit.edu/pub/whois/whois-servers.list.)
While many hosts let you search lists of local users, no complete global directory of available electronic addresses exists.
Several services on the Internet offer help. My favorite is the Usenet address database at http://usenet-addresses.mit.edu/. It is also accessible by email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu. To query, put the following in the body of your text:
send usenet-addresses/[name searching for]
The "name" should be one or more space-separated words for which you want to search. Since the search is "fuzzy" (that is, all the words you specify do not have to match), you should list all words you think might appear in the address, including first and last name, possible username, and possible parts of the host name. The case and order of the words you list are ignored. (Send the command "send usenet-addresses/help" to this address for more information.) Example:
send usenet-addresses/odd de presno
X.400 systems use an address directory according to ITU-TSS standard X.500 that connect several directories. The developers hoped that routing of X.400 messages may eventually be done automatically without the user needing to know the identity of the recipient's mailbox computer. However, it never became a big success.
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) has been introduced as an alternative to X.500. Many hope that it will become the comprehensive Internet wide e-mail address directories of the future. It is a subset of the Directory Access Protocol (DAP) used to build X500-based directories.
The information contained in LDAP databases will include vital data such as name and e-mail address, and can include supplemental data including address, phone, fax, and even the person's public key which can be used to encrypt messages the user is sending them. For more information, see the LDAP home page at http://www.umich.edu/~dirsvcs/ldap/.
Supplement by checking out the "How to find people's E-mail addresses FAQ" at: http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/FAQs/email/finding.html.
Users of this global network can send and receive mail to/from the Internet. For example, a FidoNet user may use the following method to send to my Internet address:
Send the message to user UUCP at 1:105/42. The first line of
the TEXT of the message should contain:
To: presno@eunet.no
Add a blank line after the address before entering the text
of your message.
FidoNet addresses are composed by three or four numbers;
zone:net/node
or
zone:net/node.point
The FidoNet address 1:105/42 has three elements. "1:" tells that the recipient lives in Zone number 1 (North America). 105/42 refers to Node number 42, which receives mail through Net number 105. This node has an automatic gateway to the Internet.
Another example: Jan Stozek is sysop of "Home of PCQ" in Warsaw, Poland. The Node number of his BBS is 10. He receives mail through Net number 480. Poland is a country in Europe, Zone number 2. The address to his system is: 2:480/10. His user name is Jan Stozek.
You can send an Internet message to anyone in FidoNet by using the following template:
<firstname>.<lastname>@p<point>.f<node>.n<net>.z<zone>.fidonet.org
Where <firstname> is the person's first name
<lastname> is the person's last name
To send a message from the Internet to Jan, use this address:
Jan.Stozek@f10.n480.z2.fidonet.org
One final example: Ola Garstad in Oslo has the FidoNet address 2:502/15. Use the address Ola.Garstad@f15.n502.z2.fidonet.org , when sending mail to him through the Internet.
An updated list of global FidoNet nodes can be retrieved from most connected BBS systems. (More in Appendix 1.)
Junk mail, also called spam, is one of the curses of modern society. We're talking about email messages that you never asked for, unsolicited commercial mail. Typically, they contain advertising of some product, service, business, scheme, Web-site, etc.
Junk mail takes time to retrieve, browse, and then delete one by one. It distracts. For some, it may grow out of proportions, and become a major nuisance. Most users must pay to receive it, to a local phone company or an Internet service provider.
What to do? If you get on someone's mailing list, you can ask the sender to take you off that list. This may help a little, but now much. There are so many spammers out there.
Personally, I usually just delete these messages, and keep quiet. My communications costs are low, and it often seems to take too much effort to get off that list. Besides, there's no point in helping the sender find out if my address is correct.
Others go a long way to protect themselves by being wary of giving out their email addresses, and of subscribing to newsgroups and mailing lists. However, the only 100 percent effective method is to close your mail account, and open another one. Then you'll be safe, for a while.
If you're at all active on the net, your address will be quickly picked up by spammers. It's easy! Programs like Email Magnet can scan Web sites, newsgroups, and chat channels to retrieve any string looking like an email address.
List brokers offer megabytes of lists or CD-ROMs full of addresses to anyone willing to pay. Organizations and individuals offer to send spam mail to names in their private databases. For a fee, of course.
Filtering is one way to go. Most modern email programs have a filtering function that lets you automatically send spams to Trash. They'll filter out mail from given senders, and if they find certain strings in the subject title or the body of the text.
Spam stoppers are used to prevent hostile software to pick up your email address from Usenet newsgroup. A spam stopper is additional characters that makes your address invalid while making it possible for real users to find out what your real address looks like.
You can also buy mail-related utility programs, like MailJail, a mail filtering add-on for the Eudora email programs. It's first release came with 250 rules to help thwart spam mail. (See http://www.mailjail.com.)
Example: One of my email addresses is presno@grida.no. By instruction my news reader to show it as presno@remove-this-bit-for-my-real-address, the information is made useless for spam software.
Some users even join initiatives like the SPAM Filter, a free register of people who do not want to receive junk mail. It aims at using their list to filter their addresses against addresses collected by programs such as Floodgate (which automatically builds mailing lists from newsgroup postings). At http://www.scot.demon.co.uk/spam-filter.html.
Finally, Whenever you subscribe to an email based mailing list, make sure to save the welcome message that the service returns on your disk. These messages usually contain information about how to get off the list if the volume should become too high. You may find it easier to consult these files than by trying to get off by writing the mailing list administrators.
There's a FAQ on spam at http://ddi.digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html, and a the SPAM-L mailing list at listserv@peach.ease.lsoft.com.
The Inter-Network Mail Guide describes how to send mail between mail systems like AppleLink, BITNET, BIX, CompuServe, Connect-USA, EasyNet, Envoy, FidoNet, GeoNet, Internet, MCI, MFENET, NasaMail, PeaceNet, Sinet, Span, SprintMail, and others.
The guide is posted monthly to the Usenet newsgroups comp.mail.misc and news.newusers.questions. You can search it at
http://alabanza.com/kabacoff/Inter-Links/cgi/inmgq.cgi
It is also available by anonymous ftp as
ftp://ftp.csd.uwm.edu/pub/internetwork-mail-guide.
The "Frequently Asked Questions: How to find people's E-mail addresses" document is regularly posted to the Usenet group news.answers. (Retrieval information is given under FAQ in Appendix 6.)