Module Two - Email

Being very familiar with emails I undertook this task fairly confidently.


1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

The users email address tells you there user name i.e. fred then @ (at) then the domain that they are using

2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all functions of email?

'cc' The cc function comes in useful when you are addresses the email to one person or a group however you wish to copy in other people. That way the email is directed to the person in the 'to" however alerts people in the 'cc' that the email is a matter of interest to them.

'bcc' The bcc function is useful when you are either emailing someone and wish to 'blind copy' in another person or people without the "to" address recipient knowing, or alternatively if you are posting an email to a larger group of people and do not wish for their email address's to be revealed to each other.

3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

With there being many different types of attachments you can send via email the only way to ensure that the receiving party can open you attachment is to either know the person you are sending it to and exactly what software they have on their computer, or alternatively sending the file as a plain text file (ASCII) or in a format that can be read by most applications such as 'rtf' (rich text format).

The problem with the second option is so many attachments to emails are now photo's, excel files, video or pps etc. In these cases you need to confirm with the receiving party that they can open your attachments.

4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

You can set up filters and or rules in most email programs to route mail to the appropriate folder that you wish it to go to. This gives you the ability to filter your message if you get a large amount so you can pick out the important ones and file the others for later browsing. This could apply in such cases as you were a member of a newsgroup, or if you wished to filter out "junk mail" from you in box.

5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

My folder structure in my email client (Outlook Express) is set up with everything going directly into my In Box as I get a lot of emails from people I don't know due to the nature of the web site I run. I then have various sub files such as Personal, Web Page, Correspondence, Computers, Humour etc where I file everything. Although at times my in box does get overcrowded it gives me the ability to find old emails easily by subject. Also nothing gets filed out of my in box until it has been dealt with. This ranges from passing on humourous emails from friends to answering queries etc to do with my web page and various work that I do.