Receiving email
"NO - you cannot dial 911. I'm downloading my mail!" (Anon)
Any email addressed to you will end up in the mailbox assigned to you by your email provider.
It will not be sent on to your computer unless you:
a) have the option to download email onto your computer
and
b) you specifically ask for any waiting mail to be sent to you.
Not everyone has Option (a).
If you use web-based email, then the instructions immediately below do not apply to you and you will need to read the section on web-based email instead.
If you are using an email address that was part of a package from your Internet Service Provider, then you should be able to access your email by following these instructions:
- Start your email program.
- Select "Download Mail" or similar.
- Some email programs will then connect to the Internet automatically. Others will require you to connect to the Internet manually using your normal connection procedure. It really doesn't matter which method your system uses.
- Once your computer is connected to the Internet (or online), your email program can then contact your email provider and request that any waiting mail is forwarded to your computer. This should only take a few minutes.
- After you have been notified that all the waiting mail has been downloaded onto your computer, you can close your Internet connection.
- The list of new emails may be automatically displayed within your email program or you may have to navigate to a specific location to access them.
- You can now read your emails, and reply to them, at your leisure.
Web-based Email
The one exception to the above procedure is Web Email ie email that is sent or received via a World Wide Web site using your browser rather than a specific email program.
In this instance, you will need to connect to the Internet and go to your email provider's web site. Once there, you will need to login using the username and password given to you by that provider. You will then be able to read any mail waiting for you.
However, you will have to remain connected to the Internet for the whole time.
You cannot even read your email whilst disconnected.
If you pay telephone charges by the minute, you may want to consider the "phone bill" factor before opting to use Web-based email.