In order to use an e-mail facility, you need 3 elements:-

1. An e-mail 'client' on your PC - Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger etc

2. A server located on the internet to which e-mails can be sent and an account on that server

3. A connection to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

SENDING AN E-MAIL

In order to send an e-mail, you need to make a connection to the Internet. You can do this by using an Analogue Modem, an ISDN Modem (also known as a Terminal Adaptor) or by having access to a Broadband ADSL connection. In each case, the facility to connect is provided by an ISP and the ISP will be providing an SMTP Server which will receive your e-mail and send it, via the Internet, to the recipient's mailbox. It is essential that your e-mail client is set up with the correct SMTP server otherwise the e-mail will be returned by your ISP with a message saying "We Do Not Relay" (or something similar)

RECEIVING E-MAIL

When someone sends an e-mail to you, that e-mail is usually delivered to what is known as a Pop3 Mail Account on the server of the appropriate ISP. That account will have a User Name and Password and you will not be able to retrieve your e-mails unless you have that User Name and Password entered correctly in your e-mail client.

An alternative to Pop3 Mail Accounts is SMTP Delivery. This facility is sometimes used with Microsoft Exchange Server and the ISP effectively 'delivers' mail direct to the Exchange Server which then sorts it into individual mailboxes depending on the e-mail prefix (i.e. the bit before the @ symbol). Users on the network attached to the Exchange Server (or who have remote access to the network) then retrieve mail from those mailboxes.