Public Servant Lifestyle

Email is handy and fun. Almost everyone uses it, but if you don't understand all the ins and outs of emailing, read on.

What's The Big Deal?

Email (electronic mail) is the internet's version of the postal service. The beauty lies in the fact it's fast, you don't have to write in a formal style and you'll receive a response quickly, too.

To use email you need some email software. You can get it as part of the software supplied by your internet service provider or ISP (companies like Pipex, Freeserve, AOL, or CompuServe which supply your internet connection), or as part of your web browser (the two most popular being Netscape and Internet Explorer).

Or you may prefer to use another piece of dedicated email software, which someone has recommended to you (such as Eudora or Quick Mail). Whichever you use, they all work in a similar way, enabling you to compose, send, receive, store and manage your mail.

Setting Up An Account

Setting up your own account can cost anything from nothing at all, if you go with a free service (but watch out for hidden charges), to a few pounds per month.

If you're planning on using your email when travelling or on holiday, ask your internet service provider what facilities it has for doing this: some will let you read email from any web browser, some let you send it using a web browser as well.

If you have an ISP which cannot offer web access to your mail, it's worth setting up a free web-based email account (Hotmail, NetScape, Yahoo! GMail, Excite - there really are endless providers these days)). All these services will let you send and receive messages wherever you can find a net-connected computer. You can send and receive web email by simply connecting to the service provider's website, with any browser anywhere in the world, and following the on-screen instructions. This can also be useful if you want to view mail in several different locations such as college, work or a cybercafe.

There have, however, been well-publicised security problems with some of them, most notably Hotmail, although its owner Microsoft has now pledged all problems have been fixed.

Survey

The British use the internet to say 'I love you' more than anything else, according to a one survey. Of almost 2,000 people questioned, 61% said they used the World Wide Web to profess their love. Sadly, 21% said they also used the internet to dump their other halves. Only 8% claimed they would propose online.

The survey, carried out by NOP for the internet company Yahoo!, suggested the next favourite topic of conversation on the web, email or internet chat was sport and work-related matters following that. Clean-living Brits hardly wanted to talk about sex online at all, with only 1 in 10 admitting to it. The least frequent reason to use the internet was to chat about finance.

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