Email Terms and Technologies

Mailbox

• a place for storing email
• it is associated with an email address

SMTP Server

• a computer for sending email from one mailbox to another

Mail Client

• an interface for interacting with both a mailbox (to view email)
• and an SMTP server (to send email)

SMTP

• simple mail transfer protocol
• protocol for sending email from one mailbox to another mailbox

POP

• post office protocol
• protocol for downloading email from a mailbox to a computer
• we can often choose between
  • download and delete from the server
  • download and leave on the server

IMAP

• internet message access protocol
• protocol for synchronizing email between a mailbox and a computer

Redirect

• when one mailbox receives an email,
• it automatically sends it (via SMTP) on to another mailbox,
• warning : this can lead to spam detecting if the upstream mailbox has a stringent DMARC policy, e.g. Yahoo’s DMARC policy requires all Yahoo email to come only from Yahoo SMTP servers.”"

Alias

• An option when we use one email account to “Send As” another email account.
• E.g. "Send As" lets us use Gmail to send from another account.
• without aliasing it sends through the other account’s SMTP server.
• with aliasing it sends through the Gmail SMTP server
  • The email still appears to come from the “Send As” email address.
  • Gmail can only do this because of its god-like certificate.

Todo

• Add the pros and cons of POP
• Add the pros and cons of IMAP
• Add the pros and cons of Redirecting
• Add the pros and cons of Aliasing
• E.g. spam filtering, synchronization problems, general confusion…