Electronic mail, most commonly referred to as email or e-mail since ca.

1993,
[2]
is a
method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern
email operates across the Internet or other computer networs. !ome early email systems
re"uired that the author and the recipient #oth #e online at the same time, in common
with instant messaging. $oday%s email systems are #ased on a store&and&forward model.
'mailser(ers accept, forward, deli(er, and store messages. )either the users nor their
computers are re"uired to #e online simultaneously* they need connect only #riefly,
typically to a mail ser(er, for as long as it taes to send or recei(e messages. +istorically,
the term electronic mail was used generically for any electronic document transmission.
,or example, se(eral writers in the early 19-.s used the term to descri#e fax document
transmission.
[3][/]
0s a result, it is difficult to find the first citation for the use of the term
with the more specific meaning it has today.
0n Internet email message
[)1 1]
consists of three components, the message envelope, the
message header, and the message body. $he message header contains control
information, including, minimally, an originator%s email address and one or more recipient
addresses. 2sually descripti(e information is also added, such as a su#3ect header field
and a message su#mission date4time stamp.
5riginally a text&only 60!7II8 communications medium, Internet email was extended to
carry, e.g. text in other character sets, multi&media content attachments, a process
standardi9ed in :,7 2./; through 2./9. 7ollecti(ely, these :,7s ha(e come to #e called
Multipurpose Internet Mail 'xtensions 6MIM'8. !u#se"uent :,7s ha(e proposed
standards for internationali9ed email addresses using 2$,&<.
'lectronic mail predates the inception of the Internet and was in fact a crucial tool in
creating it,
[;]
#ut the history of modern, glo#al Internet email ser(ices reaches #ac to the
early0:=0)'$. !tandards for encoding email messages were proposed as early as 19-3
6:,7 ;>18. 7on(ersion from 0:=0)'$ to the Internet in the early 19<.s produced the
core of the current ser(ices. 0n email sent in the early 19-.s loos "uite similar to a #asic
text message sent on the Internet today.
'mail is an information and communications technology. It uses technology to
communicate a digital message o(er the Internet. 2sers use email differently, #ased on
how they thin a#out it. $here are many software platforms a(aila#le to send and recei(e.
=opular email platforms include ?mail, +otmail, @ahooA Mail, 5utloo, and many others.
[>]
)etwor&#ased email was initially exchanged on the 0:=0)'$ in extensions to the ,ile
$ransfer =rotocol 6,$=8, #ut is now carried #y the !imple Mail $ransfer =rotocol
6!M$=8, first pu#lished as Internet standard 1. 6:,7 <218 in 19<2. In the process of
transporting email messages #etween systems, !M$= communicates deli(ery parameters
using a message envelope separate from the message 6header and #ody8 itself.
!pelling[edit ]
'lectronic mail has se(eral 'nglish spelling options that occasionally are the cause of
(ehement disagreement.
e&mail is the most common form, according to 7orpus of 7ontemporary 0merican
'nglish data, this is the form that appears most fre"uently in edited, pu#lished
0merican 'nglish and 1ritish 'nglish writing.[-]
email is the most common form used online, and is re"uired #y I'$, :e"uests
for 7omment and woring groups[<] and increasingly #y style guides .[9] [1.] [11]
$his spelling also appears in most dictionaries.[12] [13] [1/] [1;] [1>] [1-] [1<]
mail was the form used in the original :,7. $he ser(ice is referred to as mail and
a single piece of electronic mail is called a message.[19] [2.] [21]
'Mail is a traditional form that has #een used in :,7s for the B0uthor%s 0ddressB,
[2.] [21] and is expressly re"uired Bfor historical reasonsB.[22]
'&mail is sometimes used, capitali9ing the initial letter ' as in similar
a##re(iations lie '&piano, '&guitar, 0&#om#, +&#om#, and 7&section.[23]
5rigin[edit ]
$he 02$5CI) networ, first operational in 19>2, pro(ided a message ser(ice #etween
1,3;. terminals, handling 3. million messages per month, with an a(erage message
length of approximately 3,... characters. 0utodin was supported #y 1< large
computeri9ed switches, and was connected to the 2nited !tates ?eneral !er(ices
0dministration 0d(anced :ecord !ystem, which pro(ided similar ser(ices to roughly
2,;.. terminals.[2/]
+ost&#ased mail systems[edit ]
Dith the introduction of MI$ %s 7ompati#le $ime&!haring !ystem 67$!!8 in 19>1[2;]
multiple users were a#le to log into a central system[2>] from remote dial&up terminals,
and to store and share files on the central dis.[2-] Informal methods of using this to pass
messages were de(eloped and expanded E
19>; F MI$ %s 7$!! M0IG.[2<]
5ther early systems soon had their own email applicationsE
19>2 F 1//.41/>. 0dministrati(e $erminal !ystem [29]
19>< F 0$!43>. [3.] [31]
19-1 F !)CM!?, a local inter&user mail program incorporating the experimental
file transfer program, 7=@)'$, allowed the first networed electronic mail[32]
19-2 F 2nix mail program[33] [3/]
19-2 F 0=G Mail#ox #y Garry 1reed [3;] [3>]
19-/ F $he =G0$5 IH )otes on&line message #oard system was generali9ed
to offer %personal notes% in 0ugust 19-/.[2/] [3-]
19-< F Mail client written #y Iurt !hoens for 2nix and distri#uted with the
!econd 1ereley !oftware Cistri#ution included support for aliases and distri#ution
lists, forwarding, formatting messages, and accessing different mail#oxes.[3<] It used
the 2nix mail client to send emails which was extended to send remotely o(er the
1er)et.[39]
19-9 F 'M0IG written #y H.0. !hi(a 0yyadurai to emulate the interoffice mail
system of the 2ni(ersity of Medicine and Centistry of )ew Jersey [/.] [/1]
19-9 F M+ Message +andling !ystem de(eloped at :0)C pro(ided se(eral
tools for managing electronic mail on 2nix.[/2]
19<1 F =:5,! #y I1M[/3] [//]
19<2 F 0GG&I)&1 [/;] #y Cigital '"uipment 7orporation
$hese original messaging systems had widely different features and ran on systems that
were incompati#le with each other. Most of them only allowed communication #etween
users logged into the same host or BmainframeB, although there might #e hundreds or
thousands of users within an organi9ation.
G0) email systems[edit ]
In the early 19<.s, networed personal computers on G0)s #ecame increasingly
important. !er(er&#ased systems similar to the earlier mainframe systems were
de(eloped. 0gain, these systems initially allowed communication only #etween users
logged into the same ser(er infrastructure. 'xamples includeE
ccEMail
Gantastic
Dord=erfect 5ffice
Microsoft Mail
1anyan HI)'!
Gotus )otes
'(entually these systems too could lin different organi9ations as long as they ran the
same email system and proprietary protocol.[/>]
'mail networs[edit ]
!oon systems were de(eloped to lin compati#le mail programmes #etween different
organisations o(er dialup modems or leased lines, creating local and glo#al networs.
In 19-1 the first 0:=0)'$ email was sent,[/-] and through :,7 ;>1 , :,7
><. , :,7 -2/ , and finally 19--%s :,7 -33 , #ecame a standardi9ed woring
system.
5ther, separate networs were also #eing created includingE
=G0$5 IH was networed to indi(idual terminals o(er leased data lines prior to
the implementation of personal notes in 19-/.[3-]
2nix mail was networed #y 19-<%s uucp ,[/<] which was also used for
2!')'$ newsgroup postings
1er)et, the 1ereley )etwor, written #y 'ric !chmidt in 19-< and included
in the !econd 1ereley !oftware Cistri#ution 6and later 1!C operating systems8
pro(ided support for sending and recei(ing emails o(er the serial&#ased static&lined
networ. $he 2nix mail tool was extended to send remote emails 6identified with a
colon as a delimiter #etween the hostname and username8 using 1er)et.[39]
$he deli(ermail tool written #y 'ric 0llman in 19-9 and 19<. 6and shipped in
/1!C8 pro(ided support for routing mail o(er different networs including 0rpanet,
227=, and 1er)et. 6It also pro(ided support for mail user aliases.8[/9]
$he Mail client included in /1!C 619<.8 was extended to recogni9e from the
0:=0 net, 1$G net, 7570)'$, and 1er)et* it could also send emails to networs
6(ia the re(ised 2nix mail618 tool and deli(ermail8.[;.]
I1M mainframe email was lined #y 1I$)'$ in 19<1[;1]
I1M =7s running C5! in 19</ could lin with ,ido)et for email and shared
#ulletin #oard posting
'arly interopera#ility among independent systems includedE
0:=0)'$ , the forerunner of today%s Internet, which defined the first protocols
for dissimilar computers to exchange email
uucp implementations for non&2nix systems, which were used as an open BglueB
#etween differing mail systems, primarily o(er dialup telephones
7!)'$ , which used dial&up telephone access to lin additional sites to the
0:=0)'$ and then Internet
$here were later efforts at interopera#ility standardisation tooE
)o(ell #riefly championed the open M+! protocol[;2] [;3] [;/] #ut a#andoned
it after purchasing the non&M+! Dord=erfect 5ffice 6renamed ?roupwise 8
$he 7oloured 1oo protocols on 2I academic networs until 1992
K./.. in the 19<.s and early 199.s was promoted #y ma3or (endors, and
mandated for go(ernment use under ?5!I= , #ut a#andoned #y all #ut a few in fa(or
of Internet !M$= #y the mid&199.s.
,rom !)CM!? to M!?[edit ]
In the early 19-.s, :ay $omlinson updated an existing utility called !)CM!? so that it
could copy messages 6as files8 o(er the networ. Gawrence :o#erts $he pro3ect
manager for the 0:=0)'$ de(elopment, too the idea of :'0CM0IG, which dumped
all BrecentB messages onto the user%s terminal, and wrote a programme for $')'K in
$'75 macros called :C, which permitted access to indi(idual messages.[;;] 1arry
Dessler then updated :C and called it ):C.[;>]
Marty @one rewrote ):C to include reading, access to !)CM!? for sending, and a
help system, and called the utility D:C, which was later nown as 10)0)0:C. John
Hittal then updated this (ersion to include three important commandsE Mo(e 6com#ined
sa(e4delete command8, 0nswer 6determined to whom a reply should #e sent8 and ,orward
6sent an email to a person who was not already a recipient8. $he system was called M!?.
Dith inclusion of these features, M!? is considered to #e the first integrated modern
email programme, from which many other applications ha(e descended.[;;]
:ise of 0:=0)'$ mail[edit ]
$he 0:=0)'$ computer networ made a large contri#ution to the de(elopment of
email. $here is one report that indicates experimental inter&system email transfers #egan
shortly after its creation in 19>9.[2<] :ay $omlinson is generally credited as ha(ing
sent the first email across a networ, initiating the use of the BLB sign to separate the
names of the user and the user%s machine in 19-1, when he sent a message from one
Cigital '"uipment 7orporation C'7&1. computer to another C'7&1.. $he two
machines were placed next to each other.[32] [;-] $omlinson%s wor was "uicly adopted
across the 0:=0)'$, which significantly increased the popularity of email. ,or many
years, email was the iller app of the 0:=0)'$ and then the Internet.
5utside of the 0:=0)'$, many other networs had their own email protocols and
address formats. 'xamples includeE J0)'$ 7oloured 1oo protocols 61ritish
academic and research networs8, 227= 6mostly 2nix computers8, 1I$)'$ 6mostly
I1M and H0K mainframes at uni(ersities8, K./.. 6go(ernment and corporate8, ,ido)et
6personal computers8,C'7net 6(arious networs8 and 7!)'$ , a forerunner of
)!,)et . 0s the influence of the 0:=0)'$ and later the Internet grew, gateways
were de(eloped to pass mail #etween the internet and these other networs. $his often
in(ol(ed addresses such asE
hu#hostAmiddlehostAedgehostAuserLuucpgateway.somedomain.example.com
Cespite the complex format of some such addresses, 6in this case an Internet email
address to route mail to a user with a B#ang path B address at a 227= host8, they did
lead to the uni(ersal connecti(ity that is the ey feature of modern email.