Definition of E-mail

E-mail is one of the standard ways of communicating on the internet. It is part of the standard TCP/IP set of protocols. Sending messages is typically done by SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and receiving messages is handled by POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3), or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). IMAP is the newer protocol, allowing you to view and sort messages on the mail server, without downloading them to your hard drive.

Documents can also be attached to e-mail messages, allowing files to be transfered via the e-mail protocol. However, most mail servers do not allow large documents (over 3 MB, for example) to be sent via e-mail.