| |
 I
have an e-mail account somewhere else. Can I access it at the Library? |
If you
already have an e-mail account through your school, job, or an Internet
service provider, and you have a Web address for access to your e-mail,
enter the address in the "Location/Address:" box near the top
of the Web browser window.
You can
also try using an e-mail retrieval service such as E-MailAnywhere
(http://www.e-mailanywhere.com/) or mail2web
(http://www.mail2web.com/). You will need to know your e-mail address
and password.
If Web-based access to your e-mail is not available, your provider may allow telnet protocol access. Typically, telnet access is available
from large corporations, government and educational institutions, so this
applies particularly to college students. |
| How
do I get a free e-mail account? |
Here
are a few popular services that offer free e-mail. If you're a novice, the
sign-up process will be easier with our Signup Primer.
Free e-mail is extremely popular! These sites serve millions of users and
may have service delays and outages.
Gmail - gmail.google.com
Yahoo!
Mail - mail.yahoo.com
Windows Live Hotmail - www.hotmail.com
Excite Mail - registration.excite.com/
Free AOL Mail - free.aol.com/tryaolfree/thenewaol/
Lycos - comm.lycos.com
Find other
freemail services at Top Free Email Services - About Email, the YAHOO!
directory, the Free Email Providers
Guide or at the Free Email
Address Directory. |
| If I need to send an e-mail but I don't want an account or I don't want to use my account, is there a way? |
There are services available for temporary email. Try MyTempEmail.com or Send Anonymous Email. Consult Top Disposable Email Address Services - About Email for more suggestions. |
| What about sending a file to someone? |
Most services include a feature that allows you to "attach" a file to an e-mail message. You must be certain that the recipient of your message can receive attachments. Sometimes there are file size restrictions. See Attachment Primer below for basic instructions. |
| Someone showed me an electronic birthday card they received. How can I send something like that? Do I have to pay? |
First, you must know the e-mail address of the person to whom you want to send an electronic greeting card. Visit Email Greeing Cards - About Email for some suggested sites; many are free and do not require registration. Please note that listing your own e-mail "return address" is usually a requirement. |
| I
have a PC with a modem but I do not have the Internet? Can I get e-mail
at home? |
There
are some free Internet Service Providers (ISPs) you can try. They will provide
you with Web access and sometimes e-mail. Remember that they are supported
by advertising. This industry is fairly volatile, with companies coming
and going. Take reasonable precautions with software you install on your
PC. Generally, these systems require Windows 95 or higher. Some services
restrict your time.
Most of
the previously-free providers are now low-cost providers. Keep up with
the latest companies an trends at the YAHOO!
directory or FreedomList.
If you have
a wireless/Wi-Fi enabled laptop or other handheld device you can locate
"hotspots" that allow free Internet access. Use the WiFiHotSpotList.
The Library provides free wireless access. |
| How
can I get my own Home Page? |
Free home
pages and Web space are available from a number of sources and usually include
free e-mail. The creation of your Web page is beyond the scope of this guide,
so check with the service provider or search for online tutorials. Three
popular services are:
GeoCities
- www.geocities.com (YAHOO!)
Tripod - www.tripod.com (Lycos)
Angelfire - www.angelfire.com
(Lycos)
Locate others
in the YAHOO!
directory or 100
Best Free Web Space Providers.
There are
a number of other ways to establish your presence on the Web. You can
set up a page on one of the "social networks," such as MySpace.
Find others in the YAHOO!
directory. There are sites for storing and displaying your photos,
such as Flickr or Snapfish.
Likewise, there are sites for sharing videos and music, for hosting discussion
forums and lots more! |
Signup
Primer
Signing up will be easier
if you are prepared for these items:
- An e-mail
name for yourself. An e-mail address looks like this: username@freemail.com.
The name you choose is the name people will see in front of the @ symbol.
It should be short to be courteous to whoever is sending you mail; it must
also be unique within the service where you have your account. You could
have bruiser@freemail.com if you are just sending mail to friends,
but this wouldn't be the wisest choice to send to a prospective employer.
Likewise, douglastimothysmith@freemail.com is a little lengthy and
subject to misspelling. dtsmith@freemail.com would be better -- short
and unique. If the name you select is already taken you can keep trying
variations to make it unique. There are no spaces allowed; the name will
generally be shown in lower case. The number of users of e-mail services
sometimes makes it difficult to find the perfect name.
- A password.
Try to have something selected in advance. Usually, a word 5-8 alpha-numeric
characters long, but your service will specify the requirements. Make certain it is something you will remember. You cannot
use any special characters or punctuation -- no spaces, hyphens or periods.
Mr. Spock will not be accepted. Due to increasing concern over account security, services are suggesting or requiring that you use passwords that are harder for hackers to crack -- passwords that use a combination of letters and numbers and are not real dictionary words.
- A question only
you would know the answer to. Some services will give you access to
your account even if you forget you password IF you can answer a previously
submitted question. When you sign up, your question for yourself might be
"favorite snack?" Then, of course, you provide the answer, "chocolate."
- All the services
will ask for your name. Your real name will be displayed next to your
e-mail handle on your messages. For example, someone will see a message
coming from: dtsmith@freemail.com "Doug Smith." You should list your name
in a proper format; upper and lower case conventions apply. Many people
are concerned with privacy and are concerned about putting personal information
out on the Internet. If this concerns you, you will have to weigh it against
having access to a great, free, communications tool. If you use a fake name,
you will do a disservice to your e-mail correspondents. Your friends and
that prospective employer may only be confused.
- Some services will
ask some personal questions. Some may be optional, but you may have
to answer some questions to establish your demographic identity, such as
gender, age, education level. You will never be required to give out your
home address or telephone number. The information about you is used to provide
advertisers with an accurate picture of the services' user base. It may
also be used for targeted marketing -- the ad banners you see will attempt
to match your interests.
- Some services require you to read and copy some letters from a picture. This is what's called a CAPTCHA. You will see some distorted text in a box and are asked to copy the letters you see into a text box. The idea here is to test that you are a real human being and to prevent automated systems, which cannot distinguish the letters, from signing up for accounts for purposes such as sending out spam (junk mail).
- Miscellaneous issues:
- Some services
may ask if you wish to sign up for e-mail subscriptions to specific
content magazines. Usually these are free. You may or may not want to
sign up for these depending on your interest and how much time you have
to read e-mail.
- Many services
will also ask if you want to be listed in online e-mail directories.
If you think it would be helpful to have a listing that might be found
by a distant friend or relative, go ahead. It is also possible that
a listing will generate some solicitations or junk e-mail -- it's hard
to say (or prove). If you like your privacy and control, simply do not
list.
Go to the list
of e-mail service providers.
ATTACHMENT PRIMER
Most services allow you to send files attached to your email messages. An attachment can be any type of file, but usually it is a photo or a text document. It will be a file you saved somewhere on your PC or storage device. Every system is different, but here is the general procedure.
You will start by composing or replying to an e-mail message with all the usual information. Look for a link or icon in your email system (sometimes indicated by a little paper clip. You will be prompted to “browse” for the file you want to attach. Locate the file, select it and confirm that you want to attach. The file will be attached to your message and you can return to your message and send it. You should see the filename listed on your message composition screen.
Note that when sending an attachment, you should verify that the person receiving it will be able to open it. Attachments will work on their computer if they have the appropriate software to open it. Some types of files are very common, e.g., .jpg and .gif image files, and .txt plain text files. Some types of files require specialized software.
